Kathy never looked up as she walked through Paris in the early hours of that fateful morning. She knew her way to the Opera House, without even thinking about it. She had no room in her mind to think about it. Her mind could hear nothing but the sound that was beckoning her, calling her, seducing her.
Suddenly, she looked up as the great edifice stood before her. Perhaps, if she had not felt so confident, she might have been terrified at the prospect of going in there alone in the middle of the night. The sound she had been following seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, yet she knew its source was inside Garnier’s magnificent Opera House. She walked along a sidewall without hesitation as she approached a small door that was so old that it had obviously been painted over many times, in an attempt to hide it from the public eye. Kathy went up to it, and found that it gave way quite easily as she pushed it open.
She slowly crept inside, and shut the door behind her. The sound of the door closing left her with a strange sensation, almost as though she might never again return to the life she was leaving behind… She shook her head and turned to go down the passage. When she reached a long set of spiraling stairs, she stopped to listen to the sound, which she could now tell was a lonely violin, playing a melody so sad and filled with such despair, she almost sunk down to the floor, feeling weighed down by the emotion that the music invoked. She started down the stairs, which seemed quite endless. When she finally reached the bottom, she found herself at the edge of the infamous underground lake. Giving no thought to how she would cross it, she stepped out into the water. It was not terribly deep, and she reached the other side, without the water even reaching her waist. She now felt horribly cold and had to sit on the ground to catch her breath. When finally her breathing became a little more regular, she looked around to see if she could ascertain as to where the music was coming from. At last she stood up and made her way down a passage to her left. The music grew louder, as she approached the end of the passage. There was no sign of a door, no sign of anything! She had come to a dead end! She slumped down on the floor, feeling so incredibly defeated! The music seemed to be singing her despair for her, and as she listened, a small ray of light appeared in the corner. She looked at it, disbelievingly. She followed the beam of light till she discovered the hidden door in the wall and slowly pulled it open…
She had to shield herself from the light, which though not bright, was like the sun after one has been shut away in the dark for many hours. It was a small room, lit by candles. There was nothing in this room, but an old armchair and an ancient table, on which there were two candelabra a violin case, and several sheets of music. In front of the table stood a young man, with his back to the door and to Kathy. She stood there, with the door open, not fully comprehending what it was she was seeing. She watched as the young man finished playing the piece with a tenderness she could feel in the very core of her being. She watched as he slowly placed the violin back in the case, closed the lid, and snapped it shut. The sound was deafening in the silence. Kathy held her breath, an as she let it out, one word escaped her lips, “Erik?” The young man stopped and slowly, he turned around to face her…
The End
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