Inside My Mind: The Phantom of the Opera as told by Miss Christine Daae

Chapter 22: The Point of No Return

At that moment, I feel something inside me snap and a rush of adrenaline comes over me. My hands go to the Phantom's mask and I remove it quickly. To my utmost surprise, I pull of what I thought to be his hair along with the mask. The Phantom jumps in utter shock and attempts to run off stage before being stopped by the police. From behind me, I hear Meg scream and look towards her. She had opened the curtain to find Piangi laying on a couch, a lasso looped around his neck, his head tilted to one side. The Phantom has since noticed what was going on and he runs back towards me. Grabbing me by the wrist, my other hand gripping the mask, he wraps his cloak around me and we run backstage. I hear a gunshot before the Phantom and I disappear into the catacombs once again.

We are in the boat now, racing through the lake, the Phantom singing at the top of his lungs, a stark anger in his voice. "DOWN ONCE MORE, TO THE DUNGEON OF MY BLACK DESPAIR. DOWN WE PLUNGE TO THE PRISON OF MY MIND! DOWN THAT PATH INTO DARKNESS, DEEP AS HELL!" He lowers his gaze towards me and asks me the chilling question "WHY YOU ASK WAS I BOUND AND CHAINED IN THIS COLD AND DISMAL PLACE? NOT FOR ANY MORTAL SIN BUT THE WICKEDNESS OF MY ABHORRENT FACE!" From above our heads, I hear a mob of singers chanting "Track down this murderer he must be found". For the first time, I realize that the Phantom is so misunderstood. Because of his looks, he has lived in the basement of an opera house for years, with no contact with the outside world. I suddenly feel my heart going out to him.

His voice sounding painful, the Phantom continues. "Hounded out by everyone, left with hatred everywhere, no kind word from anyone, no compassion anywhere. Christine, Christine, why? Why?!" The mob voices continue chanting "Track down this murderer he must be found."

*AUTHOR'S NOTE The next few paragraphs are made up because until Christine and the Phantom reappear, Christine dressed in the wedding dress. The rumor is that sometime between now and when Christine and Raoul leave in the boat, the Phantom and Christine 'hook up'. I'm still mentally trying to wrap my brain around this concept, so this is what I think happened. I get that some people think it happened when she gave the ring back, but if you watch the show, this doesn't make sense because of the small amount of time they have together.

We reach the lair and the Phantom grabs my wrist, pulling me out of the boat. He leads me towards the broken mirror and grabs the doll dressed in the wedding gown with his free hand. He takes the dress off the doll before throwing it onto a chair. He drags me back to an empty room that I have never seen before. He forces me out of my costume and into the wedding dress. I decide not to fight him, so I just stand there shaking. I can feel his cold hands touching my skin as he puts my arms through the sleeves. What happens next sends chills down my entire body. As the Phantom laces up the back of the dress, I feel his hands go to my shoulders. He pulls my hair back from my neck and starts kissing me. My body goes numb. I feel his hands slide down my arms and wrap around my waist. I am powerless to resist.

I turn to face him and for the first time, I can fully see the details of the deformity that is the entire right side of his face. Despite the grotesqueness of it, I suddenly feel no fear, no regret. His eyes are full of sadness, like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. He is staring at me, his arms still around my waist. I reach up and touch the deformed side of his face lightly. He turns his head and kisses my hand. Wrapping my hand around his head, I bring his head towards mine. Instead of leaning towards me, the Phantom brings his face to my neck again. He slowly starts kissing my neck and I feel one hand going up to my head, the other staying on my waist.

He lifts his face from my neck and I feel him scoop me into his arms, like he did the first night we were in the lair. But instead of carrying me to the boat, he kneels down on the ground and lays me out on the ground. What is going on? Christine, breathe....don't fight him. Now that you know what he is capable of, don't fight him. He is on top of me now, his arms on either side of my neck. I can feel his breath against my face. Slowly, he lowers himself so that our stomachs are touching. All of a sudden, I feel that same strange feeling that I had felt that first night brush against my thigh. My body starts trembling. The Phantom looks up at me and mouths the words "Are you ok?" I nod, and he takes my face in his hands. He starts with my neck and proceeds to kiss my chest, my torso, my legs and finally my feet.

I feel as though I'm paralyzed. His hands move from my face to the base of the dress. Slowly, he raises the skirt with his hands and I feel his fingers brush against my legs. I start trembling, but resist the urge to fight. He looks up at me again and mouths the words "Are you ok?" I take a deep breath and say the fateful words "Do what you must do". He pulls himself up and kisses my neck before whispering in my ear "As you wish, my angel of music". He goes back down to the skirt of the dress and before I have time to react, the act is in progress. My body starts quivering, but I dare not resist. As he continues, I keep reminding myself of the fact that he has never experienced this before. I close my eyes and just take deep breaths. Breathe, Christine, just breathe.

All of a sudden, he stands up and turns his back to me. I hear that immortal sound, and then I realize it's over. I survived, somehow. And yet, I feel different, as if something happened that will always keep up connected, even after this is all over. He turns back to face me, a sudden look of anger on his face. He lets me freshen up before he grabs the doll with one hand, grabs my wrist with the other, and drags me out of the room and back to where the organ is. The doll is still all crumpled up on the chair that has taken the place of the broken mirror.