Chapter 1: As two worlds collide, the universe falls in darkness

He was walking down the streets in the darkness of the night. His emerald eyes were unfixed, empty as if they didn't care about anything in the world. He could feel the freezing breeze of the fall on the unmasked part of his face. He was depressed, as usual.

This evening had been like all the other one before: shallow. He had played piano for a crowd of rich snob that would probably never understand the magic of music. To him, music was everything. Without it, he would have died a long time ago and, it hurt him to think about it, but nobody would have realized he wasn't there anymore.

Erik had always been alone and that, he was sure, wasn't going to change. In fact, he thought it was better that way because when there were people around him, he felt lonelier than ever. He remembered the time when he was going to school… Back then, it seemed like everyone had found their own group of friends except him. He just didn't belong anywhere: he was the ''freak'', the ''strange one''; he was the worm in the good apple.

But all of these things didn't matter anymore; nothing truly mattered to him anyway (except music of course). Tonight, he just wanted to go in his apartment and sleep because when he slept, he felt free.

Erik was so drowned in his own inner thoughts that he didn't realized there was someone right in front of him. He bumped into him and the guy fell on the ground…

''You've got a problem freak?'' , asked the tall man with fury.

Erik didn't even bother to answer and began walking again… It seemed to be the better thing to do; he really didn't want trouble or attention for that matter.

But the guy ran in front of him and said: ''I asked you a question and I want an answer now!''

The man didn't look angry anymore, it looked more like he wanted to play ''mind games'' with Erik.

''So, are you retarded?'' , asked the now laughing man to Erik, ''I mean, it is not Halloween, so what are you doing with a mask?''

That is when Erik's nerves began to flinch… His mask and what was under had made of his existence a sorrow and that guy in front of him was like everybody else, he couldn't see past the appearances. ''What a pity'' , thought Erik with disdain.

Erik then saw something disturbing in the man face. He had a huge and malicious grin, like a vampire ready to suck the neck of his victim. Erik was right, the man wanted to ''bite'' him; the guy made an incredible fast move with his hand and tried to take Erik's mask away…

In a second, Erik remembered all the humiliations, all the harsh words people told him in the past and he hit the guy. He wanted him to die; he wanted him to pay for everything he had to go through because that man had the luck to be the lion, not the scared prey trapped in his own misery.

He hit him with violence, with all the hatred that was inside of him, but once again, he was the prey…

The other man had a blade.

Suddenly, Erik felt the skin of his chest being ripped away but that feeling wasn't the worth… When he realized that the blade was inside him, he began to ear his heart beating at a dangerous rhythm in his head and it seemed to him that his entire body was shaking. His eyes were blurred by his tears and all the sounds around him were like far away echoes.

He thought he was going to die; God never gave him a chance so, why would he now? At that exact moment, he saw a light in the night. ''I'm going to die'' , thought Erik, ''finally.''

But, that's not what happened because this is when everything changed…

That light wasn't the paradise, it was more like an angel sent from heaven. That angel was wearing a white pajama of silk; making her entire body shine under the moon and the stars. Her brown hair was beginning to get darker with the falling rain, but at least, it kept her tears hidden. She talked to him, doing everything in her power to not let him sleep, because in his case sleep would have meant death.

She didn't know that man, but as soon as she had seen he was hurt, she had called the emergency and now she was waiting under the crying sky with him, hoping that a miracle could save his life. She didn't want him to die. ''Nobody should ever die '' , she thought sadly. As she saw it, death was the only mistake made by God, the others were human's ones.

Erik didn't understand what was going on. Was death suppose to be that horrible? Couldn't it be a bit faster? He always told himself that whatever was going on in his life he wouldn't provoke his death, he would let it comes to him in time… But why was he still there? Was it a last test to see if he deserved to go in heaven? If it was that, he didn't want to do it. He didn't even care about going to hell, because nothing could be worse than the life he had lived. He was ready to die, but apparently, it wasn't his time to go.

Christine was looking into what was still open of Erik's eyes, telling him random stories that didn't mean anything. That's when she realized the man was wearing a white mask. Normally, her curiosity would have won over her and she would be pushing it away by now, but she just couldn't… '' Everybody wears a mask '' , she thought, '' it is not because his is visible that I have the right to take away his only protection left.'' Without knowing why, Christine felt closer to the man. She understood what it felt like to need to protect yourself from the world. She had her own mask, all around her heart, ready to defend her from anybody that would dare to make her believe in love…again.

Erik felt so weak, he was numb and breathing was becoming harder as the time went on. He remembered the angel that was right in front of him and looked into her almond-shaped eyes. He saw something different in her eyes, there was no pity inside them, and it was almost as if she cared about him…? ''No, Erik thought bitterly, nobody cares about me, nobody ever will.''

Not so long after, an ambulance arrived. The ambulance man came out of it, took the stretcher with him and with the help of his colleague, putted Erik on it. He then asked Christine if she knew the man and when she said no, he told her to go home and sleep; she needed to rest.

Christine didn't know what was going to happen to that man; she didn't even know his name to start with! She watched the ambulance leave and she began to worry again. Something inside her told her she should have called a cab and go to the hospital, but she couldn't. Hospitals were more like cemeteries to her. She had too many bad memories from that place and going there would have made them come back.

She then began to walk toward her house, wet from head to toes and more lost than ever.