Finding the Beauty Underneath

VII

Upon revealing Erik's face, I realized his ugly disfigurement did not scare me as much as it had before because I was now prepared for it.

His cheek was hallow and some parts looked pinkish and irritated. The top of his lip looked swollen and pulled up. The side of his face was sunken in and it looked as if a piece of his face was missing. His cheek appeared burned and wizened.

I admitted to myself that it was bad, but it certainly could have looked a lot worse. The deformity covered the entire left side of his face. I gently brushed my fingers across the deformity, then put my hand back down. "Oh, Erik," I whispered.

A single tear rolled down his cheek. "I am a monster." he said, his eyes still closed. "A revolting, vile gargoyle. Nobody wants me. I am an abhorrent, disgusting-"

I pressed my lips against his.

He jumped back slightly, but did not pull his lips away from mine. His body became rigid. His lips were firm against mine, yet they were very soft. I felt him tremble slightly as I put my hand on his disfigured cheek. Right as I was about to pull away, Erik hungrily leaned in deeper and put his arms around me, holding me firmly in place.

The soft kiss had quickly turned lustful as Erik desperately held on to me. It was as if he was making up for lost time. I wasn't even sure if I had meant the kiss in a romantic way. I just wanted to show Erik that he was not the hideous monster he thought he was.

I managed to pull away slightly. "Erik," I whispered. He opened his eyes and looked at me with astonishment. "Do not say such horrible things about yourself."

"I only say what I have learned to be called all my life, Emilie. Not everyone is as beautifully accepting as you are. . .You are the most beautiful person I have ever met."

"You, too, are beautiful, Erik."

"No, I am not."

"Beauty sometimes goes unseen. You are beautiful in your generosity towards me and in your words and you have a beautiful heart. If that is not enough, I don't know what is."

He looked at me with admiration. He held my face in his strong hands as he leaned in and kissed me softly. When he pulled away after a few seconds he said, "I am very thankful that I met you, Emilie Castille."

"I am very glad we met too."

We smiled at each other before Erik stood and held out his hand for me to take. "Come," he said. "You must eat. You're probably famished by now." I got up and took Erik's hand. He lead me back to the shore where he had cleaned up his mess from earlier. I could see that he had removed all of the sheet music from the table next to the organ, and placed some food on the table. We both sat down next to each other and proceeded to eat a delicious meal and drink fresh water. I hadn't realized just how hungry I was until I began to eat, and I was relieved to have a nice meal. We sat in silence as we ate.

"Thank you very much for the food, Erik." I said when I had finished eating.

"You are verywelcome. Are you done eating? Because I have a dress for you. . .if you'd like to change clothes. It looks to be about your size."

I smiled. "That sounds wonderful." Once Erik had finished his meal, he stood up and retrieved the dress from a bag he had been keeping under the table. He presented the dress to me with a bashful smile.

It was a simple white dress that was lined prettily with white lace around the collar, hem, and cuffs. "Here," Erik said as he handed the dress to me. "If it doesn't fit you, don't worry because I can easily go get you another one."

I took it from him with a smile and went to his bedroom to change. Once in his room, I closed the curtain and began to undress myself. I took the dress in my hands. The soft material glided over my body and clung to hips as I put it on. I twirled around in it. Even though I had no corset, it felt good to be in a dress again and not in Father's uncomfortable men's clothing. The dress had long sleeves and its hem stretched to the floor. I wished Erik had a mirror so that I could see how I looked inthe dress, but there were no mirrors anywhere in Erik's room. I took off Father's shoes and left them behind by Erik's bed. Once I exited the bedroom, I saw Erik at the organ, quietly playing a song. Erik saw me leave his room and when he looked up at me, he couldn't keep his eyes on my face. His eyes traveled up and down my body repeatedly.