Of Masks And Roses

The Opera House

I groan as I begin to come to. My head is pounding as I try to pry my eyes open. Everything is blurry, and then crystal clear, then blurry again. I hiss in pain and try to move, but it feels as if my whole body is on pause and I can't so much as move my arm before my vision blurs and head spins, causing me to feel nauseous. I can feel that I am lying on the ground, but I can't tell much else about where I am or if I am even close to where my car is.

'Huh,' I think to myself, 'The ground is a lot harder than I thought it would be.' I move my hand around to feel beneath me and my brows furrow in confusion. 'It's hardwood floor. Why am I on a hardwood floor? Shouldn't I be on the grass or in my car? Did someone bring be inside of a building as we wait for an ambulance? Where's Emily?'

Then I heard someone yelling, and I try to move to see who it is, but I can't. I can't move at all unless I want to vomit. I can feel someone running, their footsteps vibrating off the floor. I turned my head slightly as someone knelt down next to me but I couldn't pinpoint who it was, my vision was so blurry. I felt their hand on my shoulder and they shook me slightly. My head flared and I whimpered in pain.

"Mademoiselle? Are you alright?" It was a woman, with a really strong french accent. I weakly opened my mouth to reply, but all that came out was a squeak. I felt the grip on me tighten and my head began to swirl again.

"Oh gosh, somebody get a doctor!" the voice shouted, then turned back to me with a calm voice, or at least as calm as they could get, "It will be okay mademoiselle," she assured me, "Help is coming." At this I could hear people shouting and more feet pounding on the floor, coming closer to the two of us.

"What happened?" asked a voice, a man this time, and I could feel him plop down next to us, a hand touching my other arm.

"I'm not really sure, I didn't see," said the woman, "But my ballerinas did, they told me she fell from the rafters, of all things."

I whimpered in confusion, 'Ballerinas? Fell? From some rafters? No, I was in a car accident!' I wanted to say. 'There was a drunk driver! Where's Emily?'

Then everything went dark again.

XxX

"How is she doing?"

"Well, she's got a concussion, but that's about it. I'm surprised. She took a pretty big fall. Do you know why she was on the rafters?"

"No, monsieur. I didn't even see her fall. No one even saw her get up there. It's like she came out of nowhere."

"I see. Well, send a message if you ever need me again."

"I will."

I slowly opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling, my head pounding but not as hard as before and I could finally see and move again. I was lying on a small bed with plain, white sheets covering me. I slowly turned my head to the right and looked at the woman that was sitting next to me, who was reading a book. Her long hair was braided and rested over her shoulder, and she wore a black dress. A cane rested against the table next to the bed. On the table was a bowl and a pitcher of water with a rag. A small tin cup sat next to it. I squinted my eyes, wondering if I was going insane. The woman looked just like Madame Giry, from The Phantom of the Opera, the 2004 version.

'The one I saw last night,' I thought to myself, 'The one I saw with Emily. Just before the crash. Where am I?'

The woman glanced up at me, then did a double take. She sighed softly and closed her book, setting it down on the table.

"I see that you are awake," she said as grabbed at her cane, holding it in her hand as she sat.

I opened my mouth to reply, but I had nothing to say. I was stunned. Confused. Scared. I didn't know where to start. So I closed my mouth.