Wishing That You Would Be Here

Chapter 21- Face to face

(Christine's POV)

I woke up to the gentle clinging of cymbals. I slowly fluttered my eyes open and saw a small monkey with cymbals and a red hat playing the soft tune in front of me. It sat on a beautiful wooden music box with delicate designs carved into it. A mischievous grin was planted on it's face. I knew the small monkey from very long ago. It was the same monkey that I have sewn when I was just a little kid and which I have given to Erik, my first truly real friend, as his very first Christmas gift.

I didn't know why, but the angel reminded me so much of Erik. He had similarly beautiful hands with long fingers, made perfectly for playing musical instruments and his voice embraced and comforted me in the same way as Erik's. I got out of the red velvet blanket and a few very soft pillows, stumbling onto the floor. I unwinded the black curtain, trying to remember what exactly happened last night. I had my grand debut as the primadonna, I went to pray for papa, Meg led me back to the dressing room. Then I met Raoul again and the angel came to me through the mirror on the wall. I remembered how my angel looked like. He was very tall and he was wearing a black cloak with a black hood over his head. He was holding my hand in his gloved one and he led me into this unbelievable underground world of music and beauty.

"I remember there was mist,
swirling mist upon a vast glossy lake...there were candles all around..."
I was slowly remembering my last night. I entered the mysterious cave with the misty lake and candles on golden candelabras surrounding it's bank.
"And on the lake there was a boat..." I remembered the beautiful black gondola with many pillows in it and I spotted it tied to a small pole at the lakes bank. Next to it was a tall black oar leaning against the wall and it was the same oar as my angel used last night to push around the boat on the lake. Right next to it was hanged a long black cloak.
"And in the boat there was an angel..." I recalled the angel and looked over to where the grand black piano was and on the piano bench, there sat the angel. He turned his head to look at me and I saw a white porcelain mask, which covered half of his face, shine lightly as the candlelight danced on it. He then turned his head back while I came closer. I wanted to see the angel's whole face, and curiosity surely got the best out of me right there. I came as close to him as I could and I started to caress his face. He first tensed up at my touch, but then gave in to the sensation and closed his eyes, looking so at peace. I felt the cold, white porcelain on my fingertips and I lifted the mask off of his face right then and there.

He turned in one swift and fluent movement and he threw me to the ground, covering half of his face with his hand.

"Damn you! Curse you!" his voice bellowed at me, full of newfound anger. I looked at the mask in my hands and back at the angel, afraid of his reaction. But soon, the anger faded away from his voice and it was replaced with sadness. He dropped to his knees right next to me, still covering half of his face with his hand.

"Oh Christine..." he whispered and tears were forming in his eyes. He looked at me, his eyes bringing sadness into my heart.

"You may not remember what happened years ago...but you were then my angel, who fell for me from the sky above. I thought you were dead..." his voice was shaky and quiet, barely above a whisper. Those beautiful golden eyes were looking at me, those mesmerizing eyes I have known from somewhere. The pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell all to their places for me. Tears started forming in my eyes too and creeping down my cheeks. 

"Erik? Is it you Erik?" I whispered through the first tears. 

"Christine, you still remember?" he asked through his tears, but with a small glimmer of hope in his golden eyes. 

"How could I ever forget?" I whimpered and came closer to him, hugging him, finally knowing that the one who I have always thought of was here. When I pulled away from the hug, I looked into his eyes and tied to pull away his hand from his face. 

"No, Christine...please. You will run away when you find out what hideous part of me I hide from your sight." he begged me but I removed his hand from his face and what I saw was that his face was deformed on one side, with his cheekbone being a lot more pronounced, his right eye was set a lot deeper into it's socket, which looked like it had a permanent deep purple, almost black, bruise around it  and he didn't have a nose of any sorts, in it's place a dark narrow hole. I brushed my fingers against his deformed cheek, calming him down with my touch. 

"Christine, I have lied to you for so long. I'm not an angel of any sorts. I have lied to you all these past three years." he whispered. I gave him an another big hug, and this time, he returned it. 

"You're more of an Angel than I'll ever be." I said rubbing his back. I felt him tense up and I quietly giggled at Erik's awkwardness. "I think they will be missing you up there." he said as I gave him back his mask. He helped me get up and lead me to the boat. We said our goodbyes in the mirror passage to my dressing room and he opened it for me, leading me into the world of the Opera Populaire. I waved him one last time before he closed the mirror and we parted our ways, never wanting to say goodbye.