Inside Your Mind

Chapter 6

Christine took a breath to calm herself as she approached the building. She walked in and saw there was a different receptionist this time. She checked in and waited as patiently as she could.

About ten minutes later, Erik walked out, and she swore to herself that she saw him smile, or at least brighten up.

Christine followed Erik back to their usual meeting room and sat down.

"Hello, Christine." Erik greeted her. "How have you been?"

"Since the last visit?"

"Just in general."

"Every day gets a little better." She smiled a bit. "I actually met a friend."

"Oh, who?" she could see that Erik was enjoying talking to her as if they were just friends, and not therapist and patient.

She felt a little nervous. "Her name is Meg. Meg Gibbons."

"Almost identical to the Meg character you met?"

"Yes! How did you know?"

"You looked nervous."

Christine nodded. "They're so similar too! The initials and their personality...do you think I'll meet someone like Raoul?"

"Do you want to?"

"I kind of want to, but so that it'll prove something weird like fortune telling." She looked up at Erik. "Have I technically met the Phantom?"

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"No. You haven't 'met' me. We do something similar, meet up and basically have an appointment, but no, you don't know me."

That was a dumb question. Christine thought to herself.

"Anyway, we left off after the Phantom meeting you in your dressing room?"

"Not meeting, I suppose. Meg, Madame Giry, and Raoul all came to my room, at separate times, to congratulate me on my performance. Raoul was last, and invited me to have dinner with him, but I remembered I couldn't because of the Phantom. As Raoul left, the Phantom came to my room."

"How did he? Did you see him?"

"No. His voice was floating around my room. I can barely remember the path, but we sang a bit, and he was behind the mirror that was in my room! Then we went down to his lair."

"Did you also sing there?"

"Of course. After arriving there, he sang again, and I remember feeling sleepy afterwards."

"How was he singing?"

"Lower, soothing, and it was beautiful."

"I recommend writing down the music, if you can. After that?"

"I woke up sometime later. He was composing on his organ. I remember being quite curious about who was underneath the mask, and so I crept up behind him, took it off, and he yelled at me for about a minute! He was saying that it was bad of me to do so!"

"Was it?"

"His face was so deformed that it wasn't human! It would have to be a face only a mother could love, and yet, he stated later that even his mom didn't love the face. So, yes, it was bad of me to remove his mask, his ego, his pride even."

"Did you give it back?"

"Naturally. He was so mad, and yet so sad that I took it, so I had to give it back."

"Manipulation of the feelings. Just like many of the other classic antagonists. The way you describe him, he sounds like a Slytherin."

Christine nodded and decided to not carry on about Harry Potter.

"What happened after that?"

"He said we had to return. The two new managers who run the place would be missing me." Christine sighed. "Then the point of view changed. I followed the new managers around as they got their notes, which were from the Phantom, who was upset about how the Opera house was being managed and ran."

She continued on for about half an hour, filling her therapist upon all the details, perhaps yet again, and paused before getting to the part where she went to the cemetery where her father was buried in the dream.

"Christine." Erik said after scribbling away all sorts of notes.

"Yes?"

"You sound like you need to relax a bit. Even though you've got your newly acquired friend, I think they might not be able to hang out right away. I can call off. Would you like to go to the performance at the theatre that's near here?" she saw him blush a bit.

She lit up. "I'm actually in the performance!"

"You are?"

"Yes!"

"Would you like me to come and watch you for support?"

This whole conversation has been a bit weird, but what's the worst that can happen?

"Sure. It'll be a start."

"Saturday or Sunday?"

"Whichever one you can go. It'll make me anticipate it, so I'll perform better."

"The not knowing bit will boost your performance?"

She nodded. "I guess I'll see you then." She got up to leave.

Erik nodded. "Goodbye for now, Christine."

"Bye." She smiled a bit as she exited the room.

____________________

Short chapter, whee!