"Let her sing for you monsieur, she has been well taught," Madame Giry raises one black eyebrow, her bony hands gripping my right elbow in an authorized fashion. Just that one touch keeps me grounded on the stage and not high above the heavens.
Andre and Firmin give me a narrowed glance, furrowing their eyebrows in deep thought.
"Very well," Andre agrees while Firmin lets out a very audible sigh.
"From the beginning of the aria then," he continues as they walk over to the piano. Meanwhile, a short man with a curved mustache shows me the score for 'Think of Me'. However, I only get to glance at it for a second before he slams the folder closed and walks away.
The audience lets out a small wave of chuckles.
Meg hands me the ever well known scarf that I perform the aria with, making nervous eye contact with me. It is in this moment where I feel the most like Christine Daae. We are both nervous newcomers to the spotlight; anxious yet exuberant. Meg nods at me once, then squeezes my hand comfortingly.
Looking at the near shear fabric in my hands, I offer a tiny nod to the piano player. He begins the introduction to the aria.
"Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said goodbye-" I whisper, breaking off the note quickly and then turning to dart off the stage. However, Madame Giry smacks her cane firmly on the stage; freezing me in place. Looking around the theatre uncomfortably, I continue to the next line.
"Remember me, um, every so often.. Promise me.. you'll try-" The last note comes off as a croak, and I shake my head disappointingly into my hands. As much as it is an act, it all feels so real.
"Andre, this is doing nothing for my nerves.." Firmin warns.
"Don't fret, Firmin," Andre shoos away his concerns with the wave of a hand.
Closing my eyes, I fix my posture so that I stand perfectly upright. When I open my eyes, I stick my leg out with my toes pointed so that they barely graze the stage, and start to caress the scarf so that it becomes more like an accessory than a burden in my sweaty hands.
"On that day, that not so distant day, when you were far away and free. If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me..." I move my hands outwards towards the audience with a glittering smile, and then collapse back to where the stage dressers are. They are to wrap the beautifully heavy Elissa skirt over my current slave girl costume.
While this occurs, the music floods around me. With every cymbal crash and sweet violin harmony, I get engulfed more and more onto the stage. I am no longer a person playing a character.
I am Christine.
---
My eyes are fixated on the face before me, half of it covered by a porcelain-like mask, and the other half covered in a dark shadow. The duet is not between Jeremy and I, but between Christine and her angel.
"Come to me strange angel!" I vocalize, throwing my arms out towards the masked figure in the mirror. Obeying, the mirror slides open and a pale hand reaches out towards me.
"I am your angel of music, come to me angel of music.... I am your angel of music, come to me angel of music..." my angel of music croons. Fixated on his heavenly voice, I grab onto the Phantom's hand and he pulls me through the mirror into his mysterious world. I hear Raoul burst into the dressing room; but of course, like always, he is too late.
Now, up until this moment I have only seen what lies behind the famous mirror once; that was during rehearsals. However with the adrenaline of performing live racing through my veins and the hurry to the boat so that we are there in time for our cue makes this memory one that will not be fleeting my mind anytime soon. The music blasts excitedly over my thoughts, reminding me where I am.
YOU ARE READING
Hear My Voice
Fanfiction*Short Story with Limited Chapters* Annaleigh Griffith has just become the dresser for every 'Christine Daae' that performs at the Majestic Theater in "The Phantom of the Opera". However, on the 116th day of her dressing duties, a virus hits the act...
