Why Have You Brought Me Here?

Chapter 1: Think of Me

Chapter 1: Think of Me

                We were always running, and I never fully understood why. My memories grew dim once I lost my mother. As my recollections stand, my parents were always afraid of "the Opera Ghost," as they called the "man" we hid from.

On my 13th birthday, I asked my mom who this man was and why we ran away from him and were so deeply afraid of him finding us, or rather, me. "Juniper, when I was a young lady, as you are now, I was a chorus girl-one with dreams of becoming an opera singer. These dreams cascaded from every pore of my being, and filled my mind with endless stories and fascinations. However, talent must be beguiling; it must be molded and shaped, not simply presented without hardships or cruelty. The talent I had was bottled up inside of me, simply waiting to be unleashed upon the first signs of reliance and kindness.

" I found this security with a man, a ghost of sorts, who aroused my voice to the highest pits of heaven. A man who also condemned my soul to the darkest depths of hell. I found solace in his presence, at first, and even began to yield feelings toward him. He was my confidant, my angel, but not in the same fashion as you are to me. There are two types of angels in this world: beautiful angels, and terrifying ones. He was a terrifying angel. Although I felt peace with him as he built my voice, he was absolutely enthralled in my presence. He treated me with a loving passion even your father could not manipulate. Passionate, but dangerous; for he wanted me all to himself.

" Now, I mustn't tell you exactly who this man was, or what his appearance entailed, because the horror which swept over me at first glance of the unmasked angel only brought nightmares. One day you will fall in love with a man, and you will want him all to yourself, but if he does not want you in return, you will retreat and find a new love. This Opera Ghost, this Phantom would never back down without placing me at his right side. His madness finally caught up with him and I was left with a choice-marry him and let Raoul live, or defy against my Phantom and watch Raoul suffer until death. I chose my angel, thinking that I could actually live peacefully with him by my side. I knew it was a huge sacrifice, love is always an immense sacrifice, but I chose that path so my true love would come to no harm.

" I chose my angel, but my angel did not choose me. He saw through my façade and immediately sent me back to Raoul. Bewildered and slightly heartbroken, I sought after the Phantom to pay my last respects before Raoul and I joined holy matrimony. Upon entering his tavern of unending night, he spoke with rage as he cursed my lover and the life I was going to lead-a life without him by my side. He took back all comforting words which he had laid down the night before, and reminded me that he was a swift killer and could easily take away my lover's life. In addition, he gave me one last compromise, one last treaty of kindness. Oh, what a devil he was!

"Juniper, I say this to you now with every heartfelt emotion I can create, I want you only to know the truth, no matter how heartbreaking it is. That night, he negotiated with me. He stated that he would not harm my family, which at the time only consisted of Madame Giry, Meg Giry, and Raoul, so long as I promised him my first newborn daughter. How could I give up the daughter in whom I didn't have? I agreed, knowing and promising myself that I would never conceive a child, and, if I did, would never tell him of her whereabouts. One can only hide a pregnancy for a few months. A bump started to grow on the midsection of my torso. I was pregnant, with you my little angel, and the Phantom knew.

" He was tracking us down, not only to covet you, but to kill your father and me for hiding our littlest angel. So we ran from village to village, tried to stay indoors most of the time, only venturing outside when daylight approached, the time of day my masked Phantom would never voyage through. Alas, your father and I tricked him a few years back and staged your death. He stopped searching for us, for you. We were free. He would never steal you away or harm us. Then why do we keep running from town to town still? Now, I don't know if my mind, and heart are programmed this way, but I always sense him around me, even when he is far away. We will keep running from him until I feel that he no longer imposes a threat."    

            When I was 15, my mother died. Inevitably, hardly anyone attended the funeral. My father, Raoul, my mother's limp corpse, and I were the only guests in the cemetery that night.

My father followed into death a year later. On his deathbed, he promised that I would be taken care of by my Aunt Meg-the ballet dancer who relocated back to her original job at the Opera Populaire. As death grasped him by the collar, he broke out into a sob and tried to comfort me with words of hope and truth:

"Juniper, I have attempted to give you everything which I did not have. A stable home and family, and security. But the blood that flows through my veins will dry, and I will not provide you will love or shelter. Dear angel, do not fear, for when I take my last breath, you will already be on the road to your new home. Yes, it will be like a game, like the ones we use to play. Do you remember? Your mother and I would pack up all of our belongings, and move silently throughout the night to another home. You slept in her arms throughout the entirety of the night.

"Please, my dear child, close your eyes once you enter the carriage. Close your eyes, wrap both arms around yourself, and pretend that this voyage is merely another adventure, another game, one in which, I'm afraid, I, nor your mother, can follow you on. And, in return, I promise that this voyage will be the last one you ever take in fear. The carriage will lead you to the Opera Populaire-your new home, permanently."  

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