The Man Behind the Mask: The Sequel to Gaston Leroux's the Phantom of the Opera

Chapter Ten: Christina

        Quick note - Kristina Jonasdotter was a blonde, Swedish soprano and violinist. You might know her by her stage name, Christina Nilsson. She debuted in 1864, the same year the Phantom supposedly brought Christine to fame. Christina signed her letters and artwork as Christine, and performed at several Parisian Opera Houses. She is mentioned by Leo Tolstoy in Anna Karenina, one of her best performances was in the Théâtre Lyrique, near the Palais Garnier, which was supposedly the Opera Populaire. More on Christina later.

   One day, during Celine's second month with Erin, he took her for a picnic in his rose garden. She carried the blanket while he held the picnic basket and his violin, in case a sudden desire to play came over him, as many such desires had since Celi came to live with him. The child was an inspirational epicenter.

   He gazed up at the sky, in one of his rare, light moods where no whisper of darkness lingered in his thoughts. Celi, barefoot, to Erin's amusement, lay beside him, chewing on an apple and thinking about how nice the blooming roses were, and whether or not Tchaikovsky should have lengthened The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in his Nutcracker suite. (Yes, about eight years old and she's thinking about this.)

   "Celi," Erin said suddenly. "There's someone I would like you to meet. Do you remember the beautiful blonde woman from the paintings you liked so much?"

    "Yes," Celi concealed her feelings by studying her nails. To any person watching, they would have thought she was safe from Erin's scrutiny, as he was not looking at her. But Celi had learned that he had many ways of watching her to gauge reactions without her notice. Many times, when his back was turned, or when he was reading, he'd be able to tell she was daydreaming when she knew his eyes were not on her. Yet he seemed to have eyes on the sides and back of his head. She viewed it as quite unfair, but he merely laughed when she complained.

   "She's a very good friend of mine. I'm helping her sing and play the violin, though she is quite excellent on her own... but I would like you to meet her."

   "Who is she?" Celi asked, curiously and strangely, feeling a bit of dread open up a pit in her stomach. It was not unusual for her, after she went to bed, to hear a young girl's laughter drifting towards her, and then the deep, melodic cascade of Erin's soothing tones following.  She guessed this girl had come before.

   "Her name is Christina, but some of her closer friends call her Christine, so you might hear me refer to her as both." He did not mention her surname.

   "I would like to meet her," said Celi, smiling at him. Inside, she did not feel like smiling. She felt something was very off. A bad feeling hung in the air around them that Erin was blissfully unaware of. But Celi would meet Christina to make Erin happy. She was happy when he was happy. Maybe Christina would make them happy too.

                         🌹

   Christina was a young teenager.  Somewhere between twelve and fifteen, Celi thought. And she was much prettier in person than she was in her portraits. Her hair was a golden wheat color, and her eyes were a glimmering light blue. She moved gracefully and spoke carefully. She had a quick tongue, yet somehow did not appear to be very smart. Her face was kind but her voice, while musical, was not truly in possession of sweet cadences - yet. There was a lot of potential.

    Erin treated her warmly and she seemed to regard him in a brotherly manner. She was quite shocked to see Celi.

  "You adopted a child?"

   "Yes."

   "She's adorable. It's nice to meet you, Celine."

   "You as well, mademoiselle."