A Light in the Dark

Chapter 3 (Erik's POV)

Chapter 3

I had no idea what to do with the boy. Going out into the park made my hands shake with nerves. I knew Gustave would have to learn about my past at some point, but I didn't want today to be the day. I did not approve of his going out into the park on his own in the first place, but I knew the boy was young and was raised in the light. He needed the light and the fresh air unlike me who mostly dwelled under the ground where no one cared to come to disturb me. That was who I was born to be, and that was what I preferred to be- in the dark where I could not be disturbed.

As we went up the stairs and escaped into the light, I gripped Gustave's hand as tightly as I could. I had an irrational fear of losing him after the incident with Meg that night. It did not even occur to me that I might be hurting the boy until he started trying to squirm his way out of my hand. I loosened my grip and decided to act as if nothing had happened, and we climbed to the top of the stairs that led to the backstage in my music hall. A group of dancers were giggling at each other until one of them caught sight of me. I nodded to them and continued on with Gustave in tow behind me. They continued their conversation as we walked away.

Within seconds of exiting the theatre, the stares began to start. Some smiled and waved at me while a few mothers hid their children behind them. I decided that it was best to hold my ground. I did not smile, but I did not scowl. I simply looked at them as I walked by. It was not a gesture to be rude, but I did not prefer the company of people for most human beings were intolerable organisms that simply roamed the earth for their own benefit. Can I deny that at one point even I was one of these beings? No. I cannot, but then I learned to love. Oh how I missed Christine that day. Gustave was so much his mother it made me heart sick.

We rode the Ferris wheel, and for the first time ever, I went to one of my own shows. I assured Meg that she did wonderfully, and she beamed with pride.

I found out that his favorite thing to do in the entire park was to climb a top of my theatre and watch the people. My limbs that were growing stiff tried to stifle my attempt to climb, but I managed to make my way up to my son. Gustave sat there eating his ice cream and telling me every little thing he noticed about the people roaming my park. Some were sad such as an older man sitting on the bench with a rose that most likely did not belong to him, yet, some were rather amusing such as a woman that looked to be in a higher class scolded her young son for trying to eat candy off of the pavement.

Gustave was like me in the sense that he understood everything about a person just by watching their actions. I thought about my time in the opera house. I knew the business men without saying much to them. I knew the Vicomte just by the way he talked to Christine that night in her dressing room. The thought made anger swell up in my veins. That fool for treating every soul the way he did including my son.

"Papa," I heard Gustave mutter under his breath.

"Yes, Gustave?"

"Why do they call you that?"

"Call me what, Gustave?"

"The phantom. They call you the phantom."

"Yes, my Gustave. They do."

"Why, Papa?"

"Well, my son-"I thought about what I was going to say for what seemed like a very long time. I could not deny an answer. He would have to know eventually. I felt as if Gustave should know how I knew his mother and where she and I both came from. As far as I was concerned, all of this was hidden from Gustave. He knew his mother used to work for the opera house in Paris, but outside of that, very much was hidden from him. "I was once the Phantom of the Opera."

"The Phantom of the Opera?"

"Yes, my son," I could tell he was confused. I did not know how to tell the story. I did not want Gustave thinking of his father as a criminal or a terrorist of someone's self worth, but then I remembered one of the books off of my shelf that he liked to read. "Do you know the book from off of my shelf that you like to read so much?"

"Yes. The one about the long haired princess, I remember."

"Do you understand that the prince fell in love with the princess's voice so he did a crazy thing and climbed up her tower every day?" He nodded. "Gustave, my love for your mother and her voice made me do things that were not exactly in the manner of a gentleman."

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"Well, when I heard your mother sing, I used to try to teach her how and make her even better."

"What's not gentleman like about that?"

"Well, Gustave, I did not show my face to her nor tell her who I was. I deceived her. I made her believe that I was something else. She thought I was an angel."

"She thought you were her angel of music."

"Yes, my son and -"before I could finish my statement, Gustave replied.

"But you were her angel," Gustave started tearing up, "She told me herself that when she was gone that the angel of music would watch over me. My mother is gone, and I have you. You were my mother's angel, and now you are mine." Gustave's eyes were filled with tears now. "You are an angel! You are my guardian! You can't be deceptive!" I took Gustave in my arms. He rested his head in my lap and cried.

"That's enough for today, my son. I will tell you the whole story tomorrow." With that, Gustave clung to my waist and hid under my cape the entire way to the lair, and in that moment, I was glad to be his angel.