The Rose With the Voice of an Angel
Chapter 2
Erik returned to his lair with a quickness he no longer believed himself capable of. He had to get away... that child’s eyes and voice were hypnotic. Her eyes! Dear God, she was so innocent, completely unaware that a murderer had been admiring her. The thought of appearing to her had already occurred to him but his heartbreak lured him back down into his private hell before he could contemplate the thought further. He picked up his violin and began to play... he played a sad, melancholy song, one that had been written for Christine but that she had never heard. Many a night he had played it, knowing no one listened but he felt himself drawn to the melody and it was like food to him. The sad, sweet longing sound that belonged only to a violin wafted through the air up and up it went into the opera house.
Angelina eagerly read the list of those who had managed to gain a position in the chorus but was devastated when her name was not among those on the list. Oh, how she longed to sing.... Her parents would be so disappointed when she returned home with the news, after all, they had paid many francs for lessons over the years. Dismayed, she felt tears brimming her eyes, but regaining her composure she stood up tall and proudly walked out of her beloved sanctuary. She had been to the opera many times since she was able to walk and this had been what had given her the urge to sing. She had dreams of singing on stage in a marvelous costume... she would sing with her whole soul and then someone would see her, and fall in love and they would be married! Oh, how she loved to dream!
Little did she know that she had been quite close to realizing part of that dream that very night, and as she left the opera house Erik’s tune ended. He put the instrument down with trembling hands... “CHRISTINE!” He cried. He knew she would never returned, and who could blame her? Perhaps he should be happy had he even had left his home; after all, things could have been worse, couldn’t they?
Angelina sat on her bed, her parents had consoled her and assured her that she still had much time to accomplish her dreams, she was only fifteen! She was indeed a musician, she played piano and violin along with her singing and that night, as she looked out her window into the starlight she played her violin, creating a strange, enticing melody and lost sense of her being, dreaming of her dreams that still remained unfulfilled.
The next evening...
As a present to his dismayed daughter, Angelina’s
father had bought her a ticket to the opera that was to be
presented that evening. Angelina couldn’t wait... she was
wearing a forest green silk dress that showed off her slim
figure, her hair was piled on top of her head and she had put on
dramatic make-up to try and make herself appear older than
fifteen. Her father had offered to buy her two tickets so she
could invite someone but she preferred to view the opera by
herself.
Erik was dressing as well, for he too was going to the opera this evening, he put on his best cloak made of velvet with silk lining and proceeded to his box... Carlotta was in the lead but he cared little, he had to get out of the cellars if only for an hour or two to try and forget the green-eyed beauty he had seen the night before. Suddenly he felt sickened with himself... how could he become entranced in a short time... and feel the urge to stalk a young woman, more of a child when he himself was fifty! “Yes”, he thought, “I really do need to get out.”
Angelina arrived at the opera and, preferring not having to talk to anyone she decided she would explore the opera before the show, she found herself going up and up, until she arrived at the rooftop. Her breath was stolen from her throat as she looked at the starlit sky, and she sat down next to the statue of Apollo she had admired many times.
Erik was also on the rooftop, perched on the statue of Apollo, reliving one of the most horrid experience of his life. He remembered when Christine & Raoul had also sought shelter upon the roof... But now he was here to sit and find peace for a brief time, but then he heard someone beginning to speak!
“Oh! It is quite beautiful up here!” The girl, the girl with the green eyes was there! She was unaware of his presence and proceeded in talking to herself, thinking she was alone. “I would love to fly, like the birds, I would fly right to the stars and the moon! I would fly to the moon!” And she began to hum and dance about the roof, pretending she was dancing with someone. “Oh, yes! Of course I’ll marry you, and I shall sing at the opera and we will live here in Paris and everyday we shall go for long walks and we will buy whatever we like!”
Erik smiled to himself, she was pretending someone was proposing to her and she was living a little fantasy. Then, then she did something quite strange, she began to sing his tune, Christine’s tune! He leaned down, it couldn’t be! She had never heard it, but there it was, better than even he had played! And, he found himself humming gently in a harmony, unaware the child continued to dance, believing his voice to be solely in her imagination. Then it occurred to Erik... this girl had a marvelous voice, but her grace was even more unbelievable, she was dancing and it seemed as though she was floating, she had the makings of a ballerina! Erik stopped humming... he knew some simple dance training, she would learn quickly and she would become a prima ballerina in no time! Yes! That is what he would do... and as the girl danced he became enraptured by his own thoughts and his plans for the girl.
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Back - To be continued...