Destiny Takes Time

Chapter 13 – The Past Returns to Haunt

Christine lay beside Erik in his four-poster. They had been in a peaceful slumber for a while when he began tossing and turning restlessly in his sleep. Christine, being a rather light sleeper, woke up. She didn’t mind her rest being interrupted, but as she watched him, he seemed to get more and more erratic in his movements. She shied away a little for fear that he might accidentally strike her. He appeared to be saying something as well, and from what she could tell, it sounded like he was having a nightmare.

“No…please no…” he mumbled.

“Erik?” she said gently. “Erik, it’s only a dream.”

“Not her…Jovanka.”

He was nearly crying now. She had to get him to wake up.

“Erik,” she said louder as she placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him.

Suddenly, he sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath. It took a second before he realized that Christine was there beside him.

“Are you all right? You must have been dreaming something awful,” she said as she put both arms around him tightly and lay her head against his shoulder.

Erik realized that whatever it was that he’d done it had scared her. He held her warmly and stroked her hair.

“I’m fine. I’m so sorry if I frightened you.”

He slowly lay back down, taking her with him.

“What were you dreaming about?”

“It was more of a memory than a dream,” he answered reluctantly. “Thank you for waking me.”

She turned a little, no longer resting her cheek on him, but with her chin on his chest so that she was looking directly into his eyes.

“Please, Erik, you can tell me what happened.”

As he looked at her and saw the concern in her expression, he knew that she wouldn’t be at ease until he told her the truth.

“It was a long time ago. I can’t believe that I still have these dreams sometimes.”

“You said something. It sounded like a name – Jovanka. Who was she?”

Christine was very curious now.

“I should start from the beginning…”

He explained everything to her – how he was abused by Branko, Jovanka’s kindness toward him, and what happened when she nearly died.

“And after that? Did he ever hurt her again?”

“No, Branko never got the chance to harm anyone after that. Christine, there is something you should know,” he said hesitantly. “You might not want anything to do with me after I tell you this…”

“Erik, you should know better than that. Please continue.”

“I killed him. Branko died at my hand. I strangled him with a rope in my cage.”

“Oh Erik…” she said softly.

“Please don’t hate me for it, I…”

“…wanted to be certain he didn’t try to hurt Jovanka again,” she finished for him. What a terrible thing for a child to have to go through.

“Yes…that was it.”

She sensed there was something else he wanted to tell her. “Go on, Erik. What happened after you killed him?”

“A girl who had seen me displayed as a freak lingered behind the rest of the group as everyone was leaving. I distinctly remember that she was the only person there that night who didn’t laugh or taunt me. She saw me murder Branko, and I know it frightened her, but she took pity on me. She took my hand and we ran. An angry mob of people chased me, and she never left me alone. She brought me here to the opera house and hid me. If it weren’t for her help, I probably would have been caught and killed. She was just a young ballerina then. You know her – Anne Giry. We have been friends ever since then. She looked after me, and I returned the favor. On occasion, when one of the young men decided to show her some unwanted attention, a few of them met with…accidents.”

“I’m glad that you had her at least,” Christine answered, stroking his disfigured cheek.

“I would never harm anyone that I cared about. Please, don’t be afraid of me,” Erik told her almost pleadingly as he pulled her close to him.

Somehow Christine was not surprised to find out that Madame Giry had been his friend. It would explain why she seemed to know things that other people didn’t, and more often than not, was the person who found his notes. What really bothered Christine was that poor Erik believed that she would leave him because he’d killed a man. Didn’t he know that she would understand the circumstances?


“So that is your story – what you wanted to tell me the first time that you brought me here, but it was too soon then.”

He nodded. Now she understood him much better than before.

Christine placed a soft kiss on his bare chest and laid her head there to cry. Not another word was spoken; none were necessary. Her tender gestures told him that she was still his unconditionally.