Dream Journal: Day 4
Last night, the dream was different. It was much more intimate then the others, for I felt as thought I could read Christine’s thoughts. It certainly made it more interesting! There was a general cry of terrified shock from all the young girls who stumbled across the body of Joseph Buquet. Found hanging from one the sets that he himself had built; there was nothing in the room to suggest that he had taken his own life. As the girls ran back up the stairs, their shrieks of horror confirmed everyone’s worst fears. The Phantom had been at work here! Christine was dressing to go home and heard the commotion and as she rushed out into the hallway, Meg came up to her to tell her what they had discovered. Christine stumbled back and clutched at the wall behind her for balance, a shocked look on her face.
“Weren't you just speaking with Monsieur Buquet last night, after the performance? What was he telling you?” Christine focused her eyes on her friend, shook her head and answered her question. “He… he was warning me. He told me that the Phantom of the Opera had apparently singled me out and that I should be wary as he is a deformed and monstrous creature.” As she spoke these words, a single tear trickled down her face. It was, at this moment that she realized that it had to have been Erik who had murdered Buquet. What was this terrible secret that Erik had hidden even from her? She had seen his home and knew that regardless of what lay beneath the mask, he was very beautiful within. But she also had realized that he was a genius and that had frightened her. But what frightened her most of all was that she had given a part of herself to him, she had trusted him, and yes, she had even begun to love him, and knowing that he had that kind of power over her, was terrifying. Suddenly Christine was filled with a heart wrenching sadness unlike any she had ever known before.
“Christine?” Meg reached out her hand to Christine, but Christine did not seem to notice. Christine looked up suddenly and fled out the side door, all the while, Meg looking at her retreating figure with a feeling of foreboding that she could not get out her mind.
Outside the Opera house, Christine hailed a cab and asked to be taken straight to the residence of the Vicomte de Chagny.
The look on Raoul’s face when Christine was announced was, I thought, really quite amusing. It was a strange mixture of delight and concern. “Christine! Why this is a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?” He looked at her, and his tone changed. “Are you unwell? You look so pale! Here,” indicating a chair, “Pleas, sit down.” Christine slowly sat in the nearest chair and promptly fainted! It was really quite bothersome of her, as I was really getting into the whole thing! Raoul called for a servant and carried Christine up to one of the spare bedrooms and gently laid her down on the bed.
The next thing I knew, I was awake! I was shocked! I have never woken up in the middle of a dream before! Needless to say I was horribly angry and frustrated! I went downstairs and made myself some hot cocoa and went back to my room. I took out my headphones and eventually fell asleep again listening to “The Phantom of the Opera”.
I was in Raoul’s parlor and watched his face as he sat by the fire. Suddenly there was a timid knock on the door and Christine came in, looking very drawn with her eyes blood shot and her hair disheveled. She gently lowered herself into the chair on the other side of the fireplace and sighed deeply, looking into the flames. They sat thus for quite some time and I felt as though she had come to the wrong place. True they had been childhood sweethearts, but I knew that this was going to lead to the ultimate destruction of Erik. He was her soul mate! How could she not see that? Just as I wanted to get up and slap her in the face, she looked up at Raoul and slowly began to tell him everything. Beginning with the first time she had heard Erik’s voice all the way to the murder of Joseph Buquet. She was, I noticed careful not to mention Erik by name, always referring to him as the Phantom or the Opera Ghost. This seemed odd to me till suddenly I could see in her face the reason. Even in the home of her old friend, in front of a nice warm fire, she could not share with Raoul the name of her “Angel”. Somehow I understood that the true identity of the Phantom was something she wanted to keep for herself.
As she finished talking she looked up at Raoul. He smiled at her, and told her that everything would be all right. That nothing would happen to her, that he would gladly die to protect her. She smiled at him weakly and asked if he might escort her home so that she could rest. “Certainly. I shall order my carriage at once!” And he left the room. As Christine resumed her contemplation of the fire, again Erik’s voice came to her, and again, I heard it as though it were playing inside MY head. “Why have you betrayed me? I gave you everything, and this is how you repay me? By running off to this foolish young boy! What has he to offer? Money, a home, good looks! (Erik spat out this last phrase with such venom, that it startled Christine out of her chair!) I offer you the world, all the beauty that other’s cannot possibly see… Slowly, his voice faded away into racking sobs that made me feel as though my heart would burst into pieces! When Raoul returned, he found Christine on the floor sobbing uncontrollably and muttering, “My Angel…my Angel…what have I done?”
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