My Name is What?

The Journey Begins

I follow Jeremy inside to the check in area backstage. Here, I see none other than Kaley-Ann Vorhees, who plays Christine, checking in for the show later that night. She notices Jeremy and I walking towards her and she stops and smiles.

"Hey there Jeremy, and who are you?" She asks sweetly.

"I'm Delilah, and can I say you are one of my favorite Christine's I have ever seen."

"Thank you! That is very sweet of you. What brings you here?" She asks.

"She's kind of having a rough day," Jeremy replies.

"I saw her outside and thought she needed something to cheer her up. She is a very big fan of the show," He looks over at me with a small smile.

As I explain to Kaley how big of a fan I am of the show, the very man himself, Hal Prince [A/N: may he rest in peace], walks over in our direction.

"A big fan you say? How many times have you seen the show?" He asks with a teasing grin.

"In the span of about two years, 17 times. And I have never sat in the same seat twice," I reply nonchalantly. Hal's eyes growing slightly wide in shock.

"Wow. I have never met such a young fan who as seen the show that many times. What is your name young lady?" He asks.

"Delilah," I reply shyly.

"Well, Miss Delilah, stay here as long as you want. If I did hear correctly, you haven't been having the best day and it is very evident this show means a lot to you. So, please feel free to look around anywhere you like, meet the cast and even stay for the show if you want. I'll give you premium seating, so you can see everything with ease."

My mouth drops open and my stomach feels though it's doing back flips.

"Really? Are you serious?" He looks at me with his soft blue eyes and holds out his hand for me to shake.

"Yes, really. I'm positive Jeremy and Kaley will show everything there is to see. But, there is one condition. I advise that you do not go into the hall two stories down that has been tagged 'off limits'. I wouldn't want you to get lost in there," He says, his eyes now full of concern as he over to Jeremy and Kaley who share the same expression.

I look back and forth between them with a million questions burning through my head.

"Why not?" I ask intrigued.

Hal glanced over to Jeremy and Kaley and then back to me. He places his hands on my shoulders, his voice lowers from his jubilant tone to a much more serious.

"Sometimes... It isn't safe to get stuck in the past. If you do, it is very difficult to choose what you want for your future. Now, you must promise me you make the right choices whenever these things arise. And if you must decide, make sure that choice is what you truly want."

I look into his eyes and nod.

"I promise."

                                  *********

2 hours later
Jeremy and Kaley took me everywhere in the theater and I met a ton of people.

I nearly cried when I met Laird Mackintosh who quite recently took over as the main Phantom. As well Tim Jerome who plays Monsieur Firmin, Deanna Doyle who plays Meg, Michele McConnell who still plays Carlotta, some of the crew and the orchestra.

Meeting the orchestra was a huge highlight for me. I loved meeting everyone and seeing all of backstage, including a lot of the set pieces and being allowed to sit in the angel the Phantom hides in, but the orchestra was incredible. I told them of my nearly 7 years of playing the violin and they gave me a run down of how the pit works. The lead violinist even let me sit in her seat and play some of the music from the show.

It was nearing the end of my tour and thirty minutes was called for the cast. Jeremy had left a couple of minutes ago to get ready, since he is the first to go on for the Auction in the beginning of the show. Kaley had a little more time before she was to go on and was quick to get ready. So, she put on her costume and retouched her make up and led me downstairs to finish my tour of backstage.

"It has been amazing to hang out with you," I told her as we were walking down a hallway.

"Same to you, your love for this show has reminded me how important it is to some people. I feel really excited to perform tonight. It's like it's my first night all over again," She says giving me another giant smile.

We continue walking down the passage and pass by a dark hallway with police tape across it saying Off Limits in large black letters.

"Is this what Hal was taking about?" I ask, stopping in my tracks, peering down what looked like a black hole.

"Only a couple of people have been in there and have never come back the same," Kaley nods quickly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...it's hard to explain. It's as though the world is new to them, they don't remember anything from this time. And they as they start remembering and learn about the show they question the meaning of it," She explains.

Well that doesn't make very much sense. I look inside the dark hall and a slight wind rustles our hair. Then, something happens I never was expecting.

A voice sings out.

Christine... Christine...

I stumble back and look at Kaley, her face pale as though she has seen a ghost.

"Did you hear that too?" I ask her. She nods slowly with wide eyes.

"I have been down here so many times, with plenty of people. I have never, and I mean never, heard or seen anything like that happen before," she states with her voice barely above a whisper.

Christine

The beautiful voice pulls me closer to the entrance, feeling oddly drawn to it. Before I remove the tape covering its entrance, Kaley grabs my arm to pull me back.

"Remember what Hal said. You don't want to get stuck in the past, you could be trapped in there."

"Unless it's the choice I really want to make," I say looking over to her. Her deep brown eyes are filled with fear.

"Come on, we should go. The show is about to start and you should get to your seat," I nod my head in agreement and we head back upstairs.

After wishing Kaley good luck and I go to my seat all I can think of is the voice singing to me. Or at least it felt like it was singing to me.The main question in mind being one thing.

Why was he asking for Christine?