The History of the Phantom

A Blessing in the Form of an Instrument

One night I had trouble falling asleep and I was bored out of my mind. At this moment, I have been living at the faire for six weeks and I haven't seen much of the building. It was a huge home with a total of four floors. Considering I have been there for a while, you would think I would have at least seen most of it. The only places I have been in was my bedroom, the cafeteria, the cage, and the bathroom. I thought this would be the night to explore more of the rooms that I have been missing out on. After all, I was wide awake even at midnight.

As I got up, I put on my mask that was sitting right next to me on the floor. I carefully tip toed into the hallway so I wouldn't wake up anyone. The moonlight brightened the hall through the windows so it was easy to see where I was heading. My bedroom was located on the second floor so I've never been in the third or the fourth. It's not like I was forbidden to go up there, it was like I had no interest to until this night. I slowly stepped on the first step which made a cracking noise than made me jump a little. Thankfully everyone there was a deep sleeper and nobody woke up. The third floor was only a hallway of bedrooms just like the second. As I walked up the staircase to the fourth floor, I had noticed that it was just one large room full with unlit tall candles. As I took a closer look in the middle of the sea of candles, there was the biggest organ I have ever seen. I squealed in delight as I stared at the magnificent instrument. In my head, I pictured all the candles burning bright with fire and found it even more beautiful than it already was. In case if you're wondering, yes, this is where I got the inspiration to create my labyrinth years afterwards. We'll get to that part of my life later.

At this second, it has been nearly two months since last time I played music. I walked up to the organ with my jaw dropped and my eyes as big as saucers. I started pressing the keys randomly, but before I knew it I was playing one of my old songs that I wrote myself. I even started singing words that popped into my head that I believed fit with the sounds. The song was about being in pain and feeling trapped. That was the first time I created lyrics. I sung my heart out and felt all the stress lift of my shoulders. I lost myself into the music so much that I played until I saw the sunrise through the window.

I yawned deeply from exhaustion. I started to walk towards the staircase to go back to bed, but I saw everyone surrounding me when I turned around. I woke them up while I was playing at some point of that night and they all were listening. My face flushed red from embarrassment. As I looked at the crowd some of them were impressed with my skills, but most looked like they were pitying me since they knew what was going to happen soon.

"My boy, you have a talent," said the tall man that I met the day my mom abandoned me. His words seemed proud but the tone of his voice seemed angry. An enormous amount of fear started building up inside me.

"You should know to ask for permission if you want to play the organ," the guy snapped under his breath. A chill shriveled down my spine as he took a step closer to me. Eventually, the man grabbed my shoulder, dragged me to my bedroom, and locked me in there. As I banged on my door for freedom, the guy laughed like the psycho he was. I screamed so loudly, I felt my throat aching.

"NEXT TIME YOU WANT TO PLAY ASK ME FIRST!" The mad man shouted viciously.

That night, I had a show so the guy wanted to hit me. I was expecting the normal estimation, but I lost count after twenty two. I cried and whimpered on the floor once it was done. My body was shaking and my back was bleeding. I was in so much pain, I thought I was going to pass out or die. After what seemed like forever, the nurse who worked at the faire patched up my wounds and put ointment on my scratches. I asked the guy if I could play the organ and, to my surprise, he said yes. Just like the other night, I put my heart out as I sung very passionately. It was the only thing that could break me free from the pain and misery.