"Welcome home," a chilly voice greeted me from the armchair next to the bed I was laying upon. "I must say how foolish that was of you. You know you shall never be able to escape me."

"I can try," I commented and instantly regretted, seeing the look in his eyes. It was almost... pain. He quickly recovered. He stood and turned his back to me.

"This is your room. The bathroom is over here along with a closet." He said motioning to two of the three doors in the room. "As your host, I wish you to be comfortable. If you find that I have missed any item that you might need, do not hesitate to ask."

"How long am I going to be here?" Stupid question. I never should have asked.

"I have not decided yet. Five days, maybe."

"What about – about..."

"You got hit by a bus, don't you remember? You really should pay attention to where you are going, dear. Maybe if you got more sleep..."

"Argh!" I rushed at him, trying to beat him with my fists.

"Now, now, that is no way to treat your host. I shall be back in one hour. Compose yourself and, perhaps freshen up a bit."

He let go of my wrists and strode out of the door, closing it behind him. I counted to thirty and tried the door. Locked. Should have figured.

I paced the room. Would he even let me go? Or would he simply keep me here forever? What would that mean? Would my body just die? Was I in the hospital right now? Was Raoul worried for me? What would Erik do to me? Why was he even doing this?

I laughed at my naivety and my stupidity at making the bargain.

I cried thinking of how the hell I was going to get out of this mess. Who in the world would believe me, anyways?

I curled up in a corner, alternately laughing and sobbing. I didn't even hear Erik's knock.

"My poor Christine. Oh, Christine. Erik is so sorry. Please, Christine. Erik loves you more than Music itself. Erik would never harm a hair on your head, he swears. Please, come eat lunch with your Erik."

I bent to his pitiful pleas and looked up into his deep golden eyes. I saw such warmth there, so much love. It scared me and soothed me. I hesitantly smiled up at him and saw his eyes light up with pure joy. He stood and offered me his gloved hand. I took it and helped me up onto my feet. He grabbed a handkerchief out of some hidden pocket and wiped away the tears, streaming down my face. I could have sworn he wore a gentle, loving smile beneath that mask of his.

---------((0))

We dined in the same dark dining room. Each time he opened a door, he reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out a different key and inserted it into the lock.

This time an array of Japanese food was spread before me. Plates of sushi and rice rolls filled my end of the table. He pulled out my chair and I sat. He silently poured me a cup of hot tea and left my side to sit on the other end of the table.

"Do you have a last name, Erik?"

"No," he answered stiffly.

"I'm sorry," I said, ashamed of my faux pas.

"Do not be, Christine. It is not your fault my mother never even gave me her or her lover's name."

He sounded almost... human. "My mother died giving birth to me, and my father died only a few years ago." A tear rolled down my cheek, lonely and cold.

He looked up from his wineglass. He looked conflicted, like he wanted to wipe the tear away, yet afraid of my reaction. He loved me. He loved me.

"Surely, if you love me, you will let me go," I mumbled down to my plate.

He was taken aback. "I will. I told you. Of course I shall set my Christine free."

"Promise me?"

"I swear."

---------((0))

Erik had pulled out a duet from Othello to work on. My soul soared. My heart felt whole for the first time in ages. I felt gravitated towards Erik. What was behind his mask? I was no longer was just curious. I needed to know. I needed to know like one needs oxygen. He was passionately swaying to the music, he probably would never even notice. Just a quick peek, I told myself. It couldn't be so bad.

What a foolish child I was.

I ripped the mask from his face. The air choked with a hideous silence. The clatter of the mask hitting the floor broke the silence.

His face – I can't describe it. You have to have seen it to know what I'm talking about. Decaying cadavers do not have a face so ugly.

Do not ask me what happened next. I will forever try to forget it. He yelled, he screamed at me, I deserved every second of it.

Finally, he broke down, sobbing. "You can never leave now. You would not return to your Erik. No, forever and a day shall you stay here." He crawled to the glorious organ and started playing. Only his "Don Juan Triumphant" could ever have been so macabre.

I finally understood. He was tormented in his ugliness, left to rot. He had hidden away and lived out his miserable existence, using his genius to create beauty that no one but him would ever see. He ventured out one day and saw beauty, and fell in love with that beauty, knowing that never, could it be his.

I walked slowly towards his back, frightened that he would snap and try to strangle me again. I touched his shoulder and felt him tense.

"Erik." He turned away so that I didn't see his face. "Erik," I repeated. "Erik. Please. I'm not afraid of your face. It doesn't matter. I'm sorry for ripping off your mask like that."

He looked up at me his gold eyes tumultuous as the sea. I was going to go to hell for lying. "Really?" he asked hopefully. "Oh, Christine," he moaned. "I am not worthy of your apology. Or even to ask your forgiveness."

"I forgive you Erik," I looked deep into his eyes.

"May I... hug you?" he asked, looking foolish. I threw my arms around his bony, cold body. He hesitantly put his arms around me, gently squeezing me, like I would break. He jumped up from the stool and almost threw me off balance. "Come, Christine. Come with me," he asked excitedly, tugging on my hand. I followed him into the hallway.

He pulled me down the hallway. I almost had to run to keep up with his long strides. Finally he stopped in front of a nondescript door. He pulled out an old skeleton key and inserted it into the lock. The door opened to a walled garden.

The full moon reflected off of the white roses that were scattered along the walkways next to roses that appeared to be almost black. My white dress almost seemed to glow in the pale light. It was beautiful. How could a man so ugly, so filled with death create such beauty? A fountain sparkled in the center of the garden next to a small table covered in a white cloth. His golden eyes glowed in the night as he led me to the table pulling out a chair for me on the soft grass. The smell of lavender floated in the warm air and Erik set a piece of cheesecake and a glass of a dark red wine in front of me. He also sat in front of an identical spread. We talked on everything. He told me that he wanted me to sing and that there was a contest coming up that we'd be preparing a song for. Without his mask, Erik was shy and childlike. I couldn't really see his face in the dark anyways. Finally, the sky was turning gray and I yawned.

"Come, you must rest. I would not want you to fall ill," Erik said. I picked up my dish. "Leave it."

"O.K." We walked back through the door and stopped again at a door that looked the same as the hundred before it. "Erik, how do you tell between the doors?"

He chuckled. "The door does not matter. It only matters which key I put in the door." I looked at him, puzzled. He laughed again. "I am a Keymaker. I make you see what I want you to see. Except well..."

he trailed off.

"So if you wanted a new kitchen, all you have to do is make a key for it?"

"Hmmm...it is a bit more complex than that, but yes, that is the general idea."

"So are you real?"

"What do you define as real?"

"Good point." He stood before me, a dream I could touch. I could taste his food. I could sing. He opened the door and bid me good night. For the first time in a week, I enjoyed a deep, dreamless sleep.

---------((0))

Seconds lapsed into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days. There were no clocks in Erik's domain. I had no idea if I had slept for six hours or sixteen. I had no idea how long Erik kept me guest in his house. I didn't feel like a prisoner. He was so kind and polite, I suppose he was trying to make up for his outburst on my first day.

We sang. Oh, what song! If you have never felt the music course through your veins and dull your mind until you are no longer one person, but music itself, I pity you. It is the most addictive drug out there, for after only one hit, it is forever ingrained in your soul, and you will crave it for the rest of your life.

So it was with Erik. The deal I made with him was the best and the worst bargain I had ever made. I would never be free of him, nor was I sure that I ever wanted to be.

---------((0))

This chapter has a reference to my favorite movie(s). I am excited/nervous. I am going to be playing "Maple Leaf Rag" for a bunch of teenagers. Then, next Saturday, I perform my Literary Program for three judges. And, I find out if I got a huge scholarship. And, I find our if I bombed that Calculus test. And, I turn in my National Honors Society application. It all compiles. At least the musical is over. Thank God.

Your agnostic author,

Raven Sharpe

(posted 03-07-10)