Memories

1: On this Day

The day had come. The day everyone was dreading. The sun peeked over the land called Paris, France. Even though it was sunny, the land still seemed to have a gloomy feeling. Fog went over the graveyard and clouds kept the sun from hitting the grass. It was dark and sad.
  In the center of the graveyard, there were many people standing around a casket. Every single person wore black clothing to mourn the loss of Countess Christine De Chagny. Many people had just heard of the amazing opera singer Christine Daaé but few had known her personally.
In the front of the crowd stood the De Chagny's. Young Gustave stood directly in-front of his father, Raoul. Raoul had his hands rested on his sons shoulders while he stood completely still. Both of them showed no emotion. Gustave was still comprehending that his mother was really gone. She was gone forever. Raoul had never been able to say goodbye. He fled from America almost immediately after she sang. Little did he know he would never see her again.
Madame Giry stood next to the emotionless family. She wore her normal black dress and held her cane in front of her. She looked no different than normal. Sure she was upset about the loss but has never been good at showing her emotions.
Meg Giry. She stood next to her mother but she was not emotionless, not at all. She had all of her emotions spiraling. Tears streamed down her cheeks and you could tell she had not been getting sleep lately. Her circumstances were understandable. She was at the funeral of her best friend. Only she murdered her best friend.
There was only one reason Meg was still standing there. No one had spoken of what actually happened to Miss Daaé. The story was she just passed away unexpectedly after her first performance in America. Surprisingly, everyone believed it. The only people who knew the truth were Madame Giry, Gustave, and him.
No one knew but someone was there that was hiding. Behind one of the tallest gravestones stood a mysterious figure, the Phantom of the Opera. He hid from all of the guests only hoping that he could see his Christine one last time. He just needed to say goodbye. He needed his angel.
The rest of the crowd seemed to be still in shock from the tragic news of the death of Countess Christine De Chagny. Christine was always healthy and was rather young so her death being unexpected was quite odd to many.
No one seemed to question it but almost everyone was shocked.
No one moved. Not a single person moved. You could see that everyone was keeping there distance from the casket. It was halfway opened so if they stepped any closer they would see her, lying there, dead. No one wanted to see it. Some did not want to see it again.
Raoul patted Gustave's tiny shoulders and seemed to nudge him towards the casket. So Gustave approached the casket and came face to face with his lifeless mother.
Time seemed to freeze. A strange presence filled the air but it was not the Opera Ghost, it was her. She was here. She would always be with her family. Especially with her son.
The crowd seemed to part for one person, or one spirit. A woman dressed in white walked down the split crowd to the casket where she laid. The woman was her, the woman was Christine.
No she did not come back to life, she was not there. She was there in spirit, yes. But not alive. She stood beside her son Gustave who could sense her but not see her. She looked down at her lifeless body along with him.

"Think of me,
Think of me fondly"

  She moved behind her son and placed her frail hands on his small shoulders. Immediately he shot his head up from the casket. He knew she was there, he knew she was with him. Gustave's eyes became glossy and he fought back tears.

"Now that I have said goodbye
Remember me, Once in a while
Please, Promise me you'll try"

  She too had tears forming in her eyes but fought them back wanting to just be there with her son one last time.

"On this day,
This oh so dreadful day.
Now that I have left you to be free."

He had one tear slip down his cheek. She too had a few tears fall but now she had moved her hand from his shoulders and they were now at her side. She took a few steps away from him but never looked away from him. He had his back to her but he still knew she was there.
She was now next to Raoul. She turned her head to him as he stood completely still. She gave a soft smile and leaned in to kiss his cheek which only made him flinch. She took a step back and watched him reach a hand to his cheek where she had just kissed him. As soon as his hand reached his cheek he turned his head and somehow looked directly at where she was. He smiled knowing that it was her. He sat there staring at the place her spirit was but after she took a few steps back down the path he fell to his knees in sobs.

"If you ever have a moment
Spare a though for me."

She disappeared from the crowd and the two crowds came back together into one large crowd. Everything seemed to move again and Gustave immediately ran to his father to comfort him. Raoul's head was hung and he could not see Gustave approaching so he jumped when Gustave wrapped his arms around him. Raoul looked over at his child who was also crying along with him. He reached his hand up and placed it on Gustave's head.

"Can it be,
Can it be Christine"

Raoul had a shaky voice that struggled to get the words out of his mouth. He rubbed his childs head as Gustave buried his head in his fathers chest. He looked down at his son and whispered something only he and his son could hear.

"She loved you so much."

Gustave peered up from his fathers chest so he could see his father's face. His father had the most genuine and sincere look on his face. He was telling the truth. His mother loved him so much. He had been her pride and joy and her, his. Now she was gone.

"Long ago,
It was so long ago.
How young and innocent we were.
You may not remember me.
But we remember her."

He patted Gustave's head and grabbed his hand so they could stand together. Raoul bent down and wiped the young boys tears before turning around and nodding his head so people knew it was okay to look into the casket. The whole crowd moved forward and everyone seemed to look into the casket with joy in there hearts. They knew she loved each and everyone of them even if she never got to know them well. She loved. That was the important part. She left a legacy that was amazing. She was a good person and that was a good thing.

"Flowers fade,
The fruits of summer fade.
They have their seasons,
So do we."

Everyone sang together. Everyone had tears in there eyes or their eyes became glossy. No one was just standing there.

"We promise you,
That sometimes
We will think of her."

Everyone slowly backed away from the casket. The people who were not very familiar with Mrs Daaé left first, only leaving the De Chagny's and Giry's alone with Christine. Meg had calmed herself down and was now able to stand without her knees trembling or tears trailing down her face.
The four people gathered around the casket looking down onto her lifeless body. They all seemed to be emotionless again. No joy, no pain. There was nothing.
Raoul was the first to look up from Christine. He walked behind the small group of people and went beside Meg who was on the other side of Madame Giry. He placed a hand on Megs shoulder and pulled her along with him. He knew she was in pain, to much pain. He wanted her to know he was there.
Madame Giry looked over at the young child who seemed to be broken inside. She reached over to him and touched his shoulder which made his head whip around to her. She just reached down for his hand and pulled him along behind her. Leaving the graveyard with no one there but the body of Christine and the Phantom of the Opera.