Wishing That You Would Be Here

Chapter 11- The Escape of the Nightmare

*Erik*

(TEN YEARS LATER)

I have been stuck in this gypsy camp for almost 15 years. I was the main attraction on the fair. The gypsy master would beat me every night with his whip and it would leave my whole skeletal body bloody and scarred. I have long forgotten about feeling something. Since the day of Christine's passing, I was just an empty shell without emotions. I would let them beat me each night multiple times.

Since I have grown older, I was no longer The Devil's Child. I was renamed as "The Walking Nightmare". People from all over France came to see my cursed ugliness. In the Spring, the gypsies started to travel around the country with the fair to make money. During the winter, they had a spot in the forest where they would settle for the three months of freezing cold winter. It was fall. The colorful leaves were falling onto the ground as the gypsies moved to an another location.

This time, the fair settled down in Paris on a street called Rue Scribe. The gypsies spread their colorful tents in the alley near the monumental opera house. I heard two gypsies discussing about how long they will stay here, and they said that maybe two or three weeks. I also heard them saying something about them selling the dancer girls to the opera as ballerinas. I hated how they treated the poor girls. They were just selling them like vegetables at the market. I simply couldn't get over how they didn't care about the girls' feelings. I was treated the same way too, but I was something else than the dancers.

I was a monster, a thing that has come from hell. I couldn't understand how Christine could have pitied me. I was the nightmare that comes alive from each person's dreams. I was worth nothing. Nothing but pain and cruelty.

The show opened the following night. Tons of Parisians came to see the wonders of the East, oracles, talented musicians, dancers, and the various freaks. They came to my caravan too, laughing and spitting at me. I got four beatings that night. Blood dripped from my back and shoulders, but I didn't feel anything. This repeated itself for about two weeks. I was starved so I would look even more like a real nightmare.

That evening, only the ballet girls and other people from the opera staff were visiting the fair. The last group of people came to see what a monster I was. I was beaten once again and after it was done, the people threw my master some coins and he crouched down to pick them up.

This was my chance to escape the hell in which I was locked in since the age of 8.

I unraveled a piece of rope that was tied to my cage. I sneaked behind my gypsy master, quickly tieing it around his neck, and taking away his life. I looked at my hands. They were bony and faulty. I just murdered a person. But I didn't have a choice. I took his keys and the sack of money. I turned to undig one secret that I kept for almost 13 years. It was the small monkey with cymbals and a red hat which was a Christmas gift from my dearest Christine.

As I unlocked my door, I noticed a pair of eyes watching me. It was a lady, about forty years old. She must have been the trainer of the ballet girls from the opera. Her eyes were questioning me in every way, but I didn't have time for questions. I heard the police coming. I didn't know where to go or what to do. The lady yanked me by my wrist and ran with me to the lonely street.

There, she opened a small doorway to the opera's catacombs and pushed me in. I found myself in a small room. The lady soon came in. "What were you thinking to kill the gypsy? They could have caught you." I didn't understand why she saved me and she must have seen it on me because she answered right away. "If you're wondering why I saved you, it's because I didn't want to blame myself for being responsible of them hurting you more.

"By the way, My name's Antoainette Giry, but call me Madame Giry if you want. I take care of the ballet girls and their dormatories. After I leave, you can go this way and it will bring you to the storage. A few floors underneath that is an underground lake with some sort of cove. You might want to go check it out. Any necessities should be stored in the storage room and you'll maybe find something deep down there too. Anyways,I must go. The ballet girls will be pretty scared if they find out I am gone. Take care." Said this very talkative lady and left me alone.

I went down the small gap in between the walls to explore this new underground world.