[The Phantom of the Opera] The Beast and the Canary

That person was wearing a ghostly black cloak, his face was blurred, his eyes were two burning golden flames, staring at her coldly in the boundless darkness.She couldn't help but took a step back, trying to turn around and run away, but her feet were firmly nailed to the spot, unable to move, and she could only watch helplessly as the man got closer...closer...

"...Let me go." She begged silently with a tear rolling from her eye socket.

The man didn't answer her, and raised a hand to caress her pale cheeks, slender jaw, and soft rosy lips.

His fingers rested between her lips for a long, long time.Suddenly, he clasped her wrist firmly, pulled her forward, and at the same time pressed the back of her head with the other hand, bent down and kissed her hard.His lips were as cold as a ghost, but the emotion contained in them was as hot as fire.She opened her eyes wide and struggled in shock and fear, but her heart was pounding like crazy.Raul has never kissed her like this before. His kisses are gentle and gentlemanly from the beginning to the end. He even politely asks if it is okay before the kiss. Unlike this man, it is completely a fight between beasts. with bite.

I don't know how long it took, until she started to feel dizzy, the man finally stopped, he pressed her lips, and said in a cold and malicious tone: "Christine, I will wait for you in hell," Obviously the content of the words is as vicious as a curse, but it is as ambiguous as a whisper between lovers, "I've been waiting for you, you must come."

After the words fell, she woke up suddenly.

There was light rain falling outside the window, and Raul was sleeping soundly beside her.Why do you have such a dream?Christine pursed her dry lips, got up and poured a cup of cold tea.I didn't feel much in the bed just now, but when I got out of bed, I found that there were large patches of hot sweat on my back. When the wind blew, it was almost cold to the bone.

Christine, I'll be waiting for you in hell.

The words in the dream echoed in my ears.

Although the dreams were unreasonable, she still felt a little ashamed.Raul loved her so much, but she was kissing another man in her dream.

Fortunately, after that day, she never had such nightmares that indicated infidelity.Gradually, she forgot that curse-like raving.

One afternoon, a servant sent an invitation letter to the salon.At that time, she was sitting in a glass greenhouse enjoying afternoon tea, surrounded by servants. A maid was kneeling at her knees, painting her nails with bright nail polish, and putting a tray with jewelry on the table. In front of her eyes, for her to choose and try on.The moment she saw the salon invitation, she was stunned for a long time. She didn't know when it started. There were flowers, jewelry, and love in her life, but there was no music anymore.

Thinking of this, she accepted the invitation letter and decided to go to the appointment.

She obviously just needs to go to the appointment normally, but she hired a singing teacher by accident, trying to regain her basic skills.However, for some reason, she no longer had the clear singing voice she had in the dark cabin, and the voice she sang was tense and artificial.

The salon was held as scheduled.That day, Raul held her shoulders, kissed her cheek, and said gently that he would go with her.He was so considerate, afraid that she would be squeezed out by the noble lady with a prominent family, gave up the itinerary that had been arranged long ago, and accompanied her to the dull concert.

This salon did not invite famous musicians, but only a few well-known local pianists.Their techniques are really not very good, and Raul felt a little drowsy after listening to it for a while.Christine was actually a little irritable, but when she saw the soprano surrounded by the crowd, her noisy brain suddenly quieted down, and she thought of her friend, Meg, who was thousands of miles away.

She knew that Meg had always dreamed of music, but because her voice was too limited, she had to give up being a singer and dance exclusively, but after meeting Hearst, all of this was no longer a problem.Because she can't sing bass, Hearst specially wrote a song without bass lyrics for her, "Confession Without Bass", this allusion has been circulated in the music circle to this day.

Even after they moved to Frankfurt, she could see news about them from time to time.

Journalists are always on the lookout for things, but even the wind and shadows they catch can reveal Hearst's possessiveness towards Meg that is close to terror.He forbade her to show her face and stopped all her social activities.He treats her like a prisoner, but every New Year, he always writes an opera dedicated to her and asks her to perform in the most magnificent and gorgeous opera house in Germany.It is said that every high-pitched note he wrote perfectly fits Meg's voice, and every audience who heard Meg's singing at the scene were all shocked by Hearst's talent.After the opera, he forbade the audience to present flowers, and only Meg was allowed to walk off the stage holding the flowers he sent.The times are progressing, and many feminists protested Hearst's behavior, but he responded lightly: "My wife allowed me to treat her like this." Feminists had no choice but to criticize Meg, but Hearst They protected Meg so well that they couldn't see Meg at all.

In fact, Raul is also very good to her. After every banquet or dance, he will take her to the jewelry store for shopping. As long as it is jewelry that she has glanced at, he will buy it and give it to her.No woman can resist delicate and sparkling jewelry, and she is no exception.But she always felt that she seemed to have lost something.

As the days passed, her facial features gradually became three-dimensional and profound, and she grew from a young and beautiful girl to a graceful and luxurious woman.She no longer envies the soprano who is surrounded by everyone, and she no longer pins her destiny on love.She began to be as high as other noble ladies, and she naturally accepted the worship of commoners.She found her place among flowers and jewels, and became a real nobleman.

She is no longer like herself when she was young, wearing only low-key and modest jewelry, and began to pile up large strings of pearls and diamonds around her neck.Like the always magnificent Paris Opera House, she has become an open jewel box.

One autumn, she gave birth to a daughter with red lips and white teeth, and the next year, she gave birth to a son.In order not to be looked down upon by other nobles, she taught her children to be unsmiling since she was a child, asking them to hold their chests up and abide by etiquette when dining, just like two ceramic figurines with expressionless faces.

After her youth withered, her years were also passing away quickly, and soon, she was on the verge of dying.

Raul left one step ahead of her.They are the most harmonious couple in the eyes of outsiders, and they have never quarreled in their lives.The family members surrounded her with sad faces and asked her last wish.Everyone thought that before she died, the person she missed the most should be her husband who had been with her all her life.

Unexpectedly, she held her daughter's white and delicate hands, and the first words she said were: "I remember you can play the violin, little Lottie."

Even though she knew her mother was about to die of illness, little Lottie was always dignified and demure. She squatted down slightly, pressed her mother's old and withered palm to her cheek, and replied softly: "Yes, mother."

"Play whatever you want," she said. "My father was a famous violinist. I miss him."

"Okay, mother." Little Lottie stood up, ordered the servants to find the violin in an orderly manner, and then knelt down and held her mother's hands softly to comfort her.She was so gentle, so elegant, so filial, that no one else could find fault with her.

After a while, the servant handed over a pure white violin.Under everyone's mournful gaze, little Lottie stood up straight, turned her head slightly, and played the violin vigorously with her wrists.It was a song as bleak as a snowy night, and it was played at this moment, as if it was specially for Christine to die.

Christine closed her eyes and listened for a long time. For some reason, she suddenly clenched the quilt tightly and shouted hoarsely, "It's not like this...it's not like this..."

The people around were startled and gathered around, some called mother, some called grandma, some called grandma, but no one called Christine.She sank into the big soft bed and suddenly felt a deadly, suffocating loneliness.Not like this, her life should not be like this.

However, it seems like it should be like this.She has family property, children, grandchildren, someone dies, she has everything, but why is she always surrounded by a strong sense of loneliness, and what did she miss.

Her eyes were gradually blurred, her breathing was heavy, and her vitality was withdrawn from her body bit by bit.When she was dying, she seemed to hear a ghostly "Christine", but she didn't seem to.

Some things are always regretted after they are lost.But Christine Shaney died without realizing what she had lost.

In the winter of [-], the Charney family published an obituary in the newspaper:

Christine Shaney has passed away.

【End】