mask

====Into the theatre you go. //Perhaps Mr. Bull, the janitor, is in here// you wonder. Alone on the dark stage is some object, however you can’t make it out from the back row where you linger. Being a curious mind, you simply can’t help but go and find out. As you approach the stage, your ears pick up on a faint click. In an instant, a single spotlight comes to life and directs its light onto the object.====

====A sad, almost lost sounding voice sings the words “It’s over now: the music of the night” from high above the seats. As you wait in the darkness, you expect to hear more of this haunting song. Minutes pass, yet it does not return.====

====In the moment that it ends, it is even more devastating than before. You simply must find out who this is. On an instinct, you navigate your way onto the stage, through the heavy black curtains and at the foot of the ladder leading to the catwalks.====

====You begin your climb as you rise away from the stage and into the dark second story of the catwalks. With each rung, you gain more courage. As you make the final step onto the floor of the catwalk you see him.====

“Hideous!” you think “How can it be that this creature could make such beautiful opera music?—my angel of music is a monster!” You are unable to hide the shock on your face.
====As the Phantom advances toward you, you step back onto the catwalk directly above the stage. He continues, gaining speed and closing the distance between you both. As your heart pounds in your ear you are lost in your mind—you see no escape. Turning back, looking over the railing you see the mask. Once again caught in its trance, you think thoughts of terror and wonder towards this creature.====

====In a voice filled with horror, the Phantom gasps and continues his siren song “You may not remember me, but I remember—“he stops. Looking directly in your eyes, he has come to find that you are not the one he knows. With a sudden intake of air, his low voice bellows from the top of his register in a single piercing note on the word “her!” As he shoves you off the catwalk, all you hear is the one haunting note, full of sorrow and grief as the air rushes by you. Falling—falling into the dark towards your end.====