Guardian Angels

Chapter 1~ Regret

Rain poured down the window and thunder struck outside. Erik jumped at the sudden sound and looked around. "It's just the rain." He whispered to himself. At that moment, he heard the sound of a crying infant. He tried to ignore it by reading one of his favorite books but every time he heard the crying, he heard the sound a whip. Erik set the book down and began to investigate  the crying. He picked up a lantern and lit it with a match.

He walked up the stairs to the surface and opened the trap door. Around him was pitch black darkness. He pushed the trap door over his head and crawled out. He wandered down the halls of the Opera and passed by the ballerina dorms. The crying was getting louder and louder. Erik wondered how such a small child had managed to get by the steps of the grand Opera. Could there have been an accident? Once Erik had reached the doors, he hesitated for a moment. Even through the darkness, he could still see the big wooden doors. He was worried about what could lie ahead.

Could there be a family who would plead to give up their child to an unknown stranger? Could this small infant despise the very man whom she laid eyes upon? Or could he be arrested and taken away from his humble home? He did not dare to think of his twisted and tormented past. Nor could he bear to think about raising a child as his own.

His hand touched the smooth wood and he took a deep breath. He pushed open the big wooden doors to the outside world and before he knew it, he heard a baby's soft cooing. He took a deep breath and looked down at the small infant. He knelt down and saw the infant in a wooden basket. "Hello there little one. Don't be afraid." His soft voice calmed the small infant. She reached out to touch his face but he stopped her. He didn't wish to frighten the small child.

At that moment, it began to let out a loud cry. Erik set the lantern down and picked up the basket. He gently rocked it but the infant didn't stop. He then decided to take it to extreme measures. He was afraid to use his singing but he had no choice.

He closed his eyes and began to sing a lullaby. It started out shaky but soon enough, it began to become unearthly. The small infant's cries soon turned into yawns. It closed it's eyelids and began to snuggle into the blanket. Erik smiled at the small infant. Then thunder erupted and once again, the small infant began to cry. Erik once again calmed it down and brought it into the Opera. He took it down into his catacombs. Erik didn't like the idea of raising a small child nor did he know how.

He pushed open the door to his bedroom and set the basket down. He took the small infant out of the basket and wrapped it up into a warm blanket. He slowly rocked it and the small infant's eyes fluttered open. The infant's mouth began to move. Erik's face lit up with a smile as the infant began to babble. Then, one word caught him off guard. "Papa?" The infant asked. Erik let out a loud gasp and almost dropped the small child. He wasn't expecting this infant to accept this unknown stranger as her father. "N-No. I-I am not your papa. I-I have to find your parents. They must miss you." Erik mumbled. The small child couldn't understand him but she could understand what he was feeling. Denial.

Erik set the small infant back into it's basket and began to carry it out the door. But before he could leave, the small infant burst out into tears. Erik couldn't stop himself. This was a small, innocent child. If he were to abandon it, it would certainly die out there in the cold world. It would suffer the same fate as him.

Erik would soon regret his decision and turned around. He set the basket down and picked up the small infant. He took a deep breath and kissed it on the forehead. He had to choke back tears because of his choice. The small infant stopped and reached out to touch his face. Erik closed his eyes and felt it's small hands touch his face. He knew God wouldn't forgive him and he agreed. This small, innocent child would be a subject to the horrors of his mind. He couldn't even imagine them both together as a family. He was afraid.

He didn't want to have another one to show his world to. Even if it was ready to.

Later that night, he had cried himself to sleep. No, it wasn't because of the child's fate. It was because of his actions. He would curse himself for doing such a thing. Over and over he would have nightmares. He knew he couldn't take care of it but he was forced to. Soon, he got used to calling the infant 'his'. He dreaded every moment with it. He even thought of killing it but he didn't have the strength to do it.

A few months later, he had come up with a name for it.

Miracle.