Beginning note: Oh wow. . . THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS. Heh
Thanks to:
Lady Wen
Erik'sTrueAngel
Phantomgirl7338
On with the chapter!
-TheDragonEye
The Beginning of a New
London, England: London's Performing Theater of the Arts
22 months later
The audience was pin drop quiet as the final chord of a well sang harmony rang out, echoing of the walls of the glorious theater. Then the note slowly died away and the music from the orchestra faded off to one single violin which wailed in a sad, high pitched note. One person began to clap, then four others, then the entire audience erupted into applause and there was even a standing ovation when curtain call came. That was the end of London's newest opera- 'Nirvana'.
"It was a hit! It was a hit! Who would have thought we would see something like that from a novice!" one pudgy man exclaimed in the foyer of the theater about a half an hour later.
"Yes, yes, a hit! This was just opening night! Oh the reviews there will be in the paper tomorrow." grinned another.
"Look! There's the man now! Mr. Destler! Mr. Destler!" the pudgy man called out to the dark clad man, staring up at a poster advertising the musical just performed.
The masked man turned only to have his arm seized and shaken quite quickly and quite roughly, his entire arm shaking all the way up to his shoulder. It wouldn't have been too awful had it not been for five other men shaking it the same way. All offering words of compliments while doing so.
"We're glad we found you first, Mr. Destler!" the pudgy man called Grover spoke once more.
"Please, just Erik, my good sir. And thank you for giving me this opportunity."
"Well, it's a good thing Grover likes Heebus or else he would have never found you scrawling out notes while on your job at the grocers!" Chimed in Mattaus- Grover's skinny partner.
"I was merely glad he did not report me to management." Replied Erik which sent a good laugh through the gentlemen who had come to congratulate him. It seemed as though ever since his move, people had been more or less accepting of him. Not caring at all for his mask, it was just a part of him.
"Mr. Destler. . . Erik. . . I would never have done that. I may have an eye for Heebus, but talent is what my eyes are used to spot." Grover gave a hearty-laugh. "I haven't heard you voice in a while, why not give all these people here an extra special treat?"
Erik grew hesitant, "Now, Sir I really don't think these people-"
"Please, Erik, you know you want to." Mattaus spoke.
After a few rounds and wasted minutes of pestering, Erik finally gave way to their wishes, heading back into the auditorium and heading down the isles towards a piano that had been used for that evening's performance. As the man sat down he heard a rumble of voices from out in the foyer, more than likely due to Grover who was probably telling people in an over the top manner.
People entered, loud and excited, their voices echoing due to the rather great acoustics of the theater. But it just grew too noisy for the man and his fingers twitched and itched to play the ivory keys that were just bellow his gloved fingers. Erik would rather take a small, quiet audience over so many people who would not be quiet. Sure, when he started the piece he had selected from his memory, then the people would fall silent, but they would miss the first notes of the piece. For his music, you needed to hear every single note to enjoy it . . . to truly hear it.
Several 'shhh's rose from the audience as a few people finally got the hint of the matter and slowly Erik's eyes closed, waiting for these people to be done with their matters and for them to just be quiet. And in that short moment, Christine's face flashed in his mind.
Erik's eyes languidly opened. This song was for her. With that he did not care if the audience missed anything. The music was for Christine and his heart called out the emotions for this song to overpower anyone in the audience with such arrays and swirls of imagination.
The beginning of the piece began, with ease his hands playing the keys of the piano beneath them. His mouth opened and an indescribable voice parted out past his lips. The song had begun.
"Every broken hearted fool
Who ever cried themselves to sleep
Should thank the god above tonight
For whoever made them weep.
You see I envy every single tear
Every sob, every sigh,
Because the love you lost had these to once possessed
And the pain will fade in time.
But love you never had is etched in stone forever
Reminding you of what might have been
The love you never had stays with you like a shadow
So close, but when you reach there's no one there!
Every heartsick little wretch who ever fell down on their knees
Should glorify each tearful night and utilize their misery
Because pain is proof that you're alive
And soon enough the healing starts
And through it all one truth is left behind:
Someone cared enough to break your heart
But the love you never had leaves you nothing more than empty
Dreaming only dark silent dreams
The love you never had will haunt you like a demon!
Staying with you till the day that you die
You ask why. Tell you why because
That's how it feels when you reach through the darkness each night
and she never is there and she'll never be there
You rationalize that it's all for the better this way-
Love is never worth the price that you pay!
But you know it's a lie!
You rant and you rave at the God who made you this way
As long as all your sins are pre-paid
Why not raise a little hell on your way to the grave?
Then you look in her eyes
Remember why you still dream…
The love you never had is etched in stone forever
Reminding you of what might have been
The love you never had stays with you like a shadow
So close, but when you reach there's no one there!
Never there . . . Never there . . ."
The music that had kept the audience in a world of silence and captivation died away. No one stirring even as Erik stood up and left the piano- heading backstage and leaving the great room.
Finally, one person in the audience stirred, coming out of the cocoon of music. Five words pulling the entire room into much heated words and admiration.
"That man is a genius!"
That was how he wound up on a plane, heading across the ocean with a high class woman next to him. Her name was Jacquelyn Sabor and she had an eye for talent in the world. Who was to say she actually liked the people she found and brought back to her company, but this man had talent, and could be very beneficial to her own status.
Whether this man, Erik Destler, wished to be brought into the world of fame was not her concern at the moment. For this masked man had the voice of an angel and a face of a demon what a great seller huh?
The auburn haired woman turned to look at the masked man with steely blue eyes, watching with a bit of amusement as the man stared out the window, his fingers playing an unseen instrument on his lap.
"Mr. Destler?" she asked sweetly.
But Erik was lost in his own world; he had left Europe, the only place he had ever known to be a home. He could have made a living there, he had been making a living. But this woman promised that his musical could be translated and heard around the world. If that happened then Christine could see his name, Raoul would see his name. He could finally prove his worth.
"Mr. Destler!"
Erik blinked a few times and looked at the woman who had promised him these things.
"What is it?" he asked.
Jacquelyn sighed through her nose, clearly this man had never flew first class before. She pressed a shot into his hand that a passing stewardess had just brought. "Live a little. Relax." She replied as she took a sip at her own a hidden smirk on her face. This man could be easily pleased, good . . . good. Things were always easier that way. For a man who was easy to please never asked for more than one or two things in life. Erik was easy to figure out- he wanted to be treated like everyone else and he wanted his talent recognized.
"It's not poisoned, you know." She added when he didn't drink the shot in his hand.
"I don't really drink without reason." He mumbled.
She raised one of her elegant eyebrows and shook her head, "A drink to your new future, drink to that." She spoke simply as she finished hers and pressed the call button for one more.
Erik stared hard at his glass and raised it to his lips, draining the glass. A mosaic of colors. . .
"Cheers." Jacquelyn smiled and put another in his hand.
Ending note:
The song was called 'The Love you never had' and was from a Phantom Adaptation with Lyrics by Tom Alonso. Good music. . Hard to find.
See ya next time, and reviews are always wanted
TheDragonEye