[Phantom of the Opera] Ragdoll

Blood dripped from the bitten one, and the fingers were clenched and turned blue and white.Little Bell is being beaten by those people, his only friend, Little Bell—but he can't go out!

Can not Go Out!He told himself coldly and madly over and over again.Do you still want to be arrested?Do you still think about those days?You can't go out!It's a trap, you know it's a trap!It is useless for you to go out, you will be caught back!Ugly thoughts squirmed in his heart like maggots, and the sudden situation forced this young man who just killed someone to torture his heart again!Once again, take a good look at how... ugly you are!Eric was in so much pain that he almost went mad.He hated all of this, and hated himself even more!He can't go out, he can't lose his hard-won freedom!

But!But!A faint voice in my heart is struggling: let them catch you, let them beat you up, the little bell is still valuable, if you go out, the little bell will survive!That's your only friend, Little Bell!That's the little bell that plays with you, doesn't dislike you, and shares food with you!How can you leave it alone?Get out, get out now!The little bell is still alive, it is calling you!It is calling you to save it!Eric covered his head with his hands in pain, and the little Lottie in his arms lost his confinement and raised his head.The girl with clean and pure eyes asked, "Why didn't you save it?"

Eric lowered his gaze: "...I will be taken back. Little Lottie, I will be taken back as soon as I go out."

"But why didn't you save it?" Little Lottie asked stubbornly.She was too young to understand what Eric said, all she knew was the little monkey, Eric's little monkey was being beaten, and they had to save the little monkey.Perhaps it is because every story I have heard since I was a child has a bright ending, which makes little Lottie unaware of the cruelty and danger of reality.This little girl with pitch-black eyes has never encountered real evil in her life, so she can only ask repeatedly: "Why don't we save it?"

"...Stop talking, little Lottie."

"That's your best friend! You said you were playing together..."

"Stop it!" Eric shouted angrily in a low voice, the evil of human nature took the upper hand, he yelled at the little girl in extreme irritability, "Stop it, you little angel! Let me tell you - I'm just a Coward! Coward! I'm a fucking bastard! I dare not! I dare not! I dare not go out!"

"I dare not!" He yelled again, suppressing his voice and crying loudly.Eric hated himself so much that every word he said was filled with self-loathing.But Little Lottie couldn't understand these emotions. She was frightened by Eric who suddenly went crazy, and tears appeared in the little girl's eyes.

"Squeak—" The little bell's cry became more and more shrill, it seemed to be struggling desperately, the bell on its neck dangled back and forth, making a clear and pleasant sound, combined with the scream, it was even more intrusive...

mask

"Is it better?"

After drinking some hot milk, Lottie leaned against Eric. She felt exhausted, but she reluctantly nodded when he heard the question: "I'm much better, thank you."

Eric clenched his hands again and again: "...It's all my fault."

"Eric?" He said it strangely. Lottie was about to ask, but suddenly remembered another thing, and asked quickly, "How was the performance yesterday?" She fell asleep here, and the situation on the ground I don't know anything.

Eric pinched the napkin unnaturally: "Yesterday's performance...was "Sisbe and Pyramus."

"Huh?" Lottie Butler's slightly upturned eyes flickered, a half-smile, and he pushed Eric away with his backhand, "So?"

Knowing something about the character of the ghost, she was not surprised that he did so.It is most useless to lose your temper for something that has already happened, not to mention that Lottie was already somewhat biased towards Haitina in her heart, so she was not too angry.But being angry and settling accounts are two different things. Miss Butler still hasn't forgotten that the negotiation between her and the ghost about the right to use the box and the control of the theater is not over yet.

A doting smile unconsciously appeared on Eric's face.Lottie is always Lottie.The exposed half of the face looked even more beautiful because of this smile, and the cold mask became alive for a while.

"I wrote a letter instructing them what to do, and you know the ghost of the theater can be quite a deterrent—don't worry, Miss Butler. The show was a success, and, as I assure you, the singing outweighs the good looks. Hetina's singing has a sparkle of spirituality, and the critics are raving about her."

Lottie muttered to herself: "Can singing overwhelm beauty?" He remembered yesterday that he wanted to prove it to her and brought her here singing.He reacted so strongly, there should be other reasons, not to mention the mask on his face... It is obviously quite impolite to ask such a thing, and of course Lottie would not do that.She secretly guessed that maybe the right half of the mysterious man's face was damaged.Looking at his handsome left half face again, Lottie felt a little regretful.Leaving those irrelevant thoughts aside, Lottie asked:

"You seemed to want to mention a singing genius to me before? The time you were interrupted."

Eric realized who she was talking about: "A dancer named Christine."

"I remember." Lottie nodded.Eric added:

"My student. She's very talented."

Lottie raised her eyebrows slightly: "Do you still have such a carefree attitude?" Then she agreed, "Remember, I'll see her when I get back."

Eric felt a little guilty for some reason, and didn't want Lottie to misunderstand.He said: "She is 15 years old, not yet old enough to be on stage. Otherwise, you wouldn't have to worry about picking people yesterday." There was a trace of hesitation and loneliness in his tone, "Christine is beautiful."

His student Christine is a beauty.The same was true of Lottie he was thinking of.At that moment, Eric felt a little shaken in his heart. Can singing really completely overwhelm the disgust for his appearance?He shook his head again to dismiss the thought, it didn't matter.Just like once, in the time that Lottie has forgotten, that young girl kissed his mutilated face tenderly.

[The ugly heart is really ugly. 】

However, wasn't it precisely because of his ugly heart that he lost the love of little Lottie?Isn't it because of his ugly heart that little Lottie is so indifferent today?His mask hides his distorted countenance, so what conceals the ugliness of his soul?Just like at the beginning, she accepted his ugly face, but was frightened by his ugly heart.Eric knew that little Lottie, whom he had missed for fifteen years, was dead.Only Lottie Butler.Seen the ugliness of the human heart, and no longer believed in the good Lottie Butler.

Eric told himself not to think about those, and he unconsciously reached out to support the mask, as if to cover up the distorted memory.Then he said to Lottie, "I'll take you back later."

------

After returning to the ground, Lottie was still in a trance, and the journey underground was almost like a dream.

The mysterious ghost gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity, and she wanted to resist but also to get closer.Lottie Butler had a hunch that the mystery of the doll and the monkey would soon be solved, in a way that caught her off guard.And Eric, it must have something to do with it.

From the very beginning, after he knew her identity, he cared for her and was polite.During the time underground, he looked at her with suppressed tenderness in his eyes.He slipped the tongue a few times and called her "Little Lottie"... They must have known each other.But why wouldn't Eric say it?Lottie frowned slightly, the closer she was to that obscure memory, the more uncomfortable she felt.She's sure it's not a pleasant memory, but why is she still looking for it?

"In order to make me complete." She said to herself, "I have to know—" A wry smile appeared on her beautiful face, which turned into indifference in an instant, "Why am I like this?"

And little Lottie, what should it look like?

------

in the cave.Little Lottie huddled in a corner, her beautiful black eyes staring at Eric absently.she is crying.

"Will you let me out?"

As if exhausting all the strength in her body, the little girl said weakly: "Let me go out, I will go...Little Bell is crying, if you don't go, let me go..." The monkey's shrill screams gradually subsided , like an irredeemable hope.Eric already despaired of this kind of himself and this kind of world, but he still stood in front of the little girl: "No."

"You can't go." He whispered over and over again, not daring to look into those dark, crystal eyes full of disbelief, "They'll take you away...it's no use, little Lottie, you can't Get out..." He covered his face in pain.

"But they are ringing the little bell... the little bell is crying!" Little Lottie also cried, a gloomy mood made this little girl who was always happy feel very uncomfortable.In the little girl's logic, going out is a matter of course, and she couldn't understand Eric's words, because she didn't really understand what it meant to be "taken away". "You let me out! Let me out!" The emotional little Lottie almost screamed, and Eric quickly covered her mouth: "Don't scream! It will attract those people!"

------

"Oops!" A gypsy hurried over and found his companions who were beating the little monkeys. "Stop beating! Run for your life!"

"What's wrong?" The red-faced gypsy asked after his subordinates paused.

"on