All I Ask of You

Chapter 55

A few years later...

Erik's death left a hole in all our lives, but we all found ways to patch the hole at least a little.

I began to manage Phantasma with the help of Gustave who wanted to eventually take it over in memory of his father. After Erik's death, he officially changed his last name to Destler. He also finished raising his little sister, Marguerite.

Gisele married and also helped with park operations. Mainly, she worked at the concert hall and taught music lessons. Her father's studio became hers and a portrait of the two of them hung above her desk. This portrait was painted without Erik's mask.

Genevieve had her first baby and then quickly continued her family. Her and Georgie had four beautiful children together. One of which bore Erik's name. Now, Genevieve focused on composing music and singing at the park.

Georgette was the only child of Erik's without much interest in music. She enjoyed listening to it, but had no passion for it. However, she possessed another gift... Erik's architecture skills. Now, Georgette was off at a university studying with the most prestigious architects in the world. To top it off, she was the only woman too.

As for me, I began to tell some of the stories that Erik had told me to my oldest grandson, Gaston, in hopes that he would share the story with the world. I knew it was his destiny, but I had to make sure every detail was exactly right so that everyone would fall in love with Erik the way I did.

After all, maybe it would've been a happier story if everyone knew that Erik had fallen in love, gotten married, had children, and was known as a kind and noble man. Deep down though, the purpose of Erik's story was much greater. The world needed to hear of his suffering and treatment. It was only because of this that people fell in love with him and like me, dreamed of helping him... of loving him. With that story out in the world, hopefully it would be a better place.

Was loving Erik easy? No. But was it worth it? Absolutely.