Love Never Dies

Chapter XXI

White was everywhere. I slowly blink my eyes, adjusting to the light. "Christine?" I hear from behind me. "Is that you?" I turn to see an older gentleman, my head tilted in confusion. "Christine Daaé?" I ask him. "I'm her daughter." He lowers his head. "Good... she shouldn't go this early."

"Pardon me, but who are you and how do I go back?" He looks back up to me. "I'm Gustave Daaé. So, I guess your grandfather!" I giggle a little at the funny face he makes. "Your Maman's papa?" He nods, "Indeed. You look so much like her..." I chuckle, "You can't imagine how many times I've heard that." I take a deep breath and look around. It looked like a normal white room. "Where-?"

"I'm sure you have lots of questions. Walk with me." I look around at the world. "Is this heaven?" Gustave looks down at me, "Yes. And no. It is whatever you'd like it to be."

"What do you mean?"

"This is your idea of heaven. Go ahead, think about what you'd like to see." I close my eyes tight, scrunching my face as hard as possible. A breeze slips across my face and I open my eyes.

It was just as I imagined. A tree, at the top of a hill, overlooking the beautiful ocean. "Hm. Very calming." Gustave sits at the base of the tree, patting the ground beside him. I lie down, holding my head up with my hands. "What are you doing here?"

"I wait." I tilt my head. "I know, I know. What does that mean?" He holds up a hand, chuckling a little. "I've been waiting for my Christine to come. Her mother sometimes visits as well, but she stayed back today." I roll onto my back, "But why here?"

"It is just close enough to Earth. Sometimes, I can see my little girl from here." I nod and look around. I could understand waiting here; It was peaceful. "I'm glad Christine hasn't come to me today, but that brings up another question: What is an eleven-year-old girl such as yourself doing here?" I sigh. "I was shot."

"Shot?" I nod. "You say this so calmly, are you not angry?" As he says this, I realize I am angry. Meg shot me, she had taken me away from my life. I was eleven.

"I am angry..." Slowly, my breathing increases. "She shot me! I just got my family! How could she do this?!" I stand and begin pacing. "I've been a sister to her! I've tried so hard to be a good friend!" I scream in frustration and the next thing I know, I've thrown my fist at the tree. Gustave watches me. "I'm sure this is hard to deal with, but might I ask, why she shot you?"

"Because- because-!" I run my hands through my hair. "I don't know... she's just so lost. Meg... she's-!"

"It sounds to me like this was a misunderstanding," Gustave speaks quietly. I slowly realize he's right, "It was... wasn't it?"

"Maybe you should let her know that."

"How can I? I'm dead."

"I see." He nods, deep in thought. "What are you going to do about that?" I look at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"You said you wanted to go back. You can if you'd like, but I must warn you. Not many have succeeded."

I hear something tickle my ear. It's Christine and Papa yelling. "Surely I can go back... I can hear them calling for me."

"The real question is this: do you want to go back?" I turn to him, "Of course!" He looks straight into my eyes and I can see what he's telling me. "You have become more relaxed and carefree since you got here. Something tells me you haven't had that in a long time. Most people imagine a place that connected them to Earth. I don't believe you've ever been to this place that you've imagined."

He was right. I haven't been calm since I first learned to talk. This place... it was so peaceful, quiet. It was just the right color: a beautiful blue sky, a blue ocean.

Blue. That was Christine's favorite color. It's my favorite color. I still have so much to learn about Gustave. I have to go back, no matter the consequences.

"Blue..." I mutter under my breath. "What?"

"Blue. Everything here is blue, The sky, the ocean. We're even wearing blue!" I point to his clothing. He looks down, "So we are. What does that mean to you?"

I turn and look at the ocean I've imagined. "It means there's a part of me that wants to go back. A large part of me. I still have so much to learn- you have a grandson I just learned was my brother!" I pause for a moment, then turn to face him.

"Yes. I want to go back. I have a family waiting to be started." He nods, a small smile on his face. "Just like your mother." He places a small kiss on my forehead. "If you make it back, please tell my Little Lotte I love her." He begins to fade away, like smoke being blown by the wind. Black begins to envelop me and the world comes back to me. There is no blue sky, no blue ocean, just black. I have to have made it back.

AN: I just realized, do people know Roman numerals? Do you huys what regular numbers???

Also we only have one chapter left!