Like Father, Like Son | Phantom of the Opera

xvi. A Heart to Heart and Face to Face Conversation

JANUARY 1916

LARA

I arrived at Gustave's house, only to find myself hesitating to knock on the door as my mind tried to figure out if there was a point in going in at all. I had been going over almost every day after school for the past few weeks with the intention of talking to Gustave's father, but every time I tried, he was locked away in his study; I hadn't been able to get in more than a few words with him. Gustave told me that he could be a very stubborn man, but I didn't know where to begin. He and I seemed to be on good terms when Gustave was here, but ever since he left, it was almost like he wanted nothing to do with me. However, something I didn't think he had accounted for was that I could be just as stubborn. So, with my somewhat shaky hand, I knocked on the door, but my heart sank a little when Mister Khan answered instead of who I had wanted to see.

"Good afternoon, Lara," he said with what was clearly a forced smile. He seemed tired and almost worn out, as there were noticeable dark circles under his eyes and my mind immediately filled with possibilities of what might be happening at the house.

"Hello. Is Erik here?" I inquired. To ask a question I already knew the answer to seemed to be the only way to keep things going in terms of conversation. I knew that Erik had hardly left his home since Gustave left, but the question still came from a place of hope.

With a deep sigh from Mister Khan, I had my answer; that alone told me that he was home, but was locked away again. "Please come in, I was just fixing up something to eat." He gestured for me to step inside and I followed him to the kitchen without a word. "Would you like anything?"

"No, thank you," I replied with a small smile as I took a seat at the table. Then it hit me; Mister Khan and Erik had been friends for years. He had to have an idea about how I could get through to him. "Actually, there is something I would like your help with."

He barely looked up from his plate of food before as he replied, "And what would that be?"

"I have been wanting to get to know Gustave's father in his absence, but it seems like he wants nothing to do with me. Do you have any ideas as to how I could get through to him? You know him best."

He seemed shocked at my question at first, like he had just been told a deep secret, but he left his plate at the counter and joined me at the kitchen table. "Well dear, Erik is a very complex person. He has seen a lot in his life and has had to go through unspeakable things. A lot of them are not my stories to tell. Before I continue, though, I need to know how much you already know about him and Gustave's mother," he said

"Gustave told me how my uncle and his mother were married and how Gustave rightfully holds him responsible for his mother's death." There was a sense of anxiety building up inside of me, I noticed. I was trying to prepare myself for what I would hear but I had no idea what to expect.

There was a small chuckle from Mister Khan before he said, "Well then, he really did give you the bare minimum of the story." There was a slight pause before he continued: "I suppose I should start at the beginning. I am sure you know of the great opera house in Paris, the one that fell victim to a terrible fire."

"I know of its history, as well as the rumours of a ghost there, but I know it must have been superstition," I replied, trying to recall what I had read about the Opera Populaire when I had been going through my father's papers, as it seemed that my family had been some sort of a sponsor for that theatre.

"Actually, Lara, there was a ghost. He called himself 'The Phantom of the Opera,' and he was very real...in fact, you have met him."

It took me a moment to put the pieces together, and once I had, I could not easily hide the shock on my face. "Are you telling me what I think you are?"