The History of the Phantom

Birthday Party

It was Christine's fourth birthday. She was dressed in a light pink dress with white laces that shaped blooming flowers. Her chocolate colored curls bounced off her shoulders with every gleeful skip she took. Her happy brown eyes glistened in the sunlight as she smiled. She was one precious little thing.

We were outside in the backyard as Gustave spread out a delicious buffet on the picnic table. My mouth watered as I stared at the food. I watched a few tiny water droplets drip down the berries and into the fruit bowl. A newly baked loaf of bread filled the air with a sweet hypnotizing aroma. The sandwiches looked divine. The lettuce in them appeared to be fresh and you could see the crunchy texture without even taking a bite into it. However, they were also soft because the slices of white bread were as fluffy as a cloud. It was way too hard to hold back my growling stomach. Everything looked so wonderful.

I have been living with Gustave, Christine, and Penelope for the past four years after my murder. The carnival wasn't exactly an option anymore since the guy who owned it was, well, dead. I honestly didn't know if the carnival was still running or if it was shut down.

"Hey Christine!" I called out to her. I set her birthday present on the table next to the food. She saw me in the distance and took full charge towards me.

"Eriggy!" She happily cried back to me. The backyard was pretty giant and would be enough room to build a whole new house. Christine was a little far from me so she had to sprint if she wanted to catch up with me soon. She moved as fast as her small little legs could possibly carry her. She was actually a lot quicker than I expected.

"Christine, you know his name is Erik," Gustave teased her jokingly once she sat down at the table.

"I like Eriggy better."

He chuckled a little. "My mistake, pumpkin. You carry on then."

"Thanks Daddy." Her attention was back on me.

"How are you Christine?" I asked as I kneeled to her height level.

"I'm great," the little girl proclaimed.

"Well, it is your birthday. I don't see a reason why you shouldn't feel great."

Then her smile turned grim. Her eyes had a lot of thought in them. It almost reminded me of myself when I was her age.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed deeply," I have dreams of you crying and refusing to hug me. Do you hate me?"

My heart sunk to the bottom of my feet. I haven't held her since that incident when I killed the tall man. Although, I still managed to watch Christine grow up and take care of her once in a while. I locked myself in the guest room most days so I can separate myself from her.

"My whole life you have kept yourself hidden in the guest room. I want to say I'm sorry for whatever I did to hurt you," She said solemnly with her eyes glued to her hands entwining each other in her lap.

"Christine! Never have you ever hurt me! Please don't say that!" How on earth could she remember me refusing to hold her as a baby? Sure, she said it was just dreams. The thing was that those dreams weren't imaginary or false. They were very real.

"Why are you so distant?"

Gustave interrupted our conversation before we could go any further," Christine, why don't you give me a hand getting the drinks from inside the house?"

"Ok." She got up and went back inside.

"Did you tell her something?" I asked when she was finally out of earshot.

"No, I didn't."

"Did you know about the dreams?"

He sighed deeply. "She told me a few of them, but that happened a year ago. I thought they stopped by now."

"I just find it odd that she would know about those times. She was barely a year old when they happened."

"I find it odd too, but life has a strange way of showing us things."

"I guess. I mean, I remember my mom's first reaction when she had me."

"Really? What was it?"

"She screamed of horror."

"Oh. I'm sorry about that."

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It was now dessert and Christine was about to blow out her candles. I wonder what it's like to have a birthday party. I've never had one before in my life. It is a beautiful thing. Gathering around with your family as they celebrate the first day you were born. It's something I never had.

"Happy birthday to you!" We sang.

"You have a lovely voice, Eriggy," Christine said.

"Aw thank you."

"Daddy, you should take lessons."

"For crying out loud, I was Erik's music teacher," Gustave laughed.

"You could've fooled me." Wow for such a little child, she had a lot of attitude.

"Blow out your candles already," he muttered.

She blew out her candles and she stared at the rising smoke in hope. It seemed as though she desperately wanted her wish to come true.

"What was your wish?" I asked her.

Immediately, she wrapped her arms around my skinny waist. She squeezed me so tightly, I could hardly get a breath out. She sunk her cheek into my stomach. I stared at her with shock. When she saw my widened eyes, she drew back.

"I got my wish." A cheerful smile spreads across her lips and her eyes beamed brighter than ever. My heart melted at the adorable sight.

I bent down and tenderly hugged her. She hugged me again, but this time it was a lot sweeter than her first time. After all these years of holding back, it caused me to sob a little.

"Are you upset?" She asked me.

"No. Not at all." I was the happiest I've ever been in a long time.