#viibrato

 “I AM MOST accustomed to being in the darkness, madame.” Darkness was his faithful friend; one he knew he could always rely on to conceal his hideous, and poor excuse of a form.

“ erik! look what i found outside! ” she had been out on a walk, for the morning had been the first clear day since winter had started, and she wanted to take a fresh of breath air after being in her angels home for quite some time. but on her walk, she had discovered something-- or someone that was rather curious.

her small hands held a cream colored puppy, it’s small body trembling from being out in the cold. she had found it sitting on the side of a road, frightened and alone, practically begging for her attention. it’s eyes looking far less sad now than when she had first encountered it. christine didn’t have the heart to leave it behind, so she had picked it up with the intent to at the very least take it out of the snow.

christine knew what she had gotten herself into. after a calming and refreshing walk around the park with erik, she had known that was enough to make the night already enchanting. but it was snowing in paris! and she could not resist the temptation of getting into a slight amount of mischief... and so she had thrown a carefully made snowball at the mans back. it was not the wisest decisions, for he had larger hands to hold more snow— as well as very fast reflexes... she hardly stood a chance. and this was confirmed as soon as a cold sphere hit her directly in the center of her chest.

with a loud, and overly exaggerated “ oof! ” she falls into the snow. attempting to be as dramatic as her body would allow. Her arm gracefully draping over her face as though she were in immense amounts of pain. and she might as well be! for snow is cold, and some few clumps of the ice might have fallen into her corset.

“ you have hit me! oh, I’m afraid it is the end for me, mon ange!— for the light is already growing... the cold is spreading through and entering my heart! oh- oh I’m going!—” she reaches upwards, as though trying to grasp the hand of an imaginary spirit had come to take her into the afterlife.

Anna curled ribbons with the cheerful determination with which she usually tackled monotonous tasks.She smiled to herself, singing softly. If it was her apartment, she’d sing loudly to an audience of irritated and unwitting roommates. At work, she was… wary around her new boss. He cut an intimidating figure, like a Disney villain, which would be scary enough. He wore a mask, which was unusual, maybe even vaguely unnerving, but worst of all, he was a musician. When Anna arrived to work early or stayed late, she could hear him playing piano upstairs. It was always beautiful, always worth waking up early or closing the shop late. But.. well. Real musicians - professionals - could hear that Anna hadn’t had a proper lesson in four years. Not since-

She inhaled sharply. Was what kept her from snagging roles? The more she thought, the quieter her voice became until it stopped altogether. Tying the ribbons around a bouquet, she tried to smile at her handiwork. It’d be easier to smile if her brain wasn’t spinning.

Maybe Erik had hired her out of pity. Maybe she was just as bad at working in a flower shop as she’d be anywhere else. Maybe the world was spared the sound and sight of her as long as she was stashed away in some flower shop instead of on a stage. Maybe-

Anna set the bouquet down and fanned her eyes as if she could keep tears from falling and makeup from running. It was such a stupid thing. Like, there were people in the world with real problems.She thought about homeless orphans. Homeless orphans with Ebola! In comparison, Anna had it good. She had a job, a place to live, enough money for the metro and maybe a hot dog… No theatrical prospects lined up, though. 

Anna looked around, grateful Erik was in the backroom. Maybe he couldn’t hear her. Maybe she could pull it together before a customer showed up. Grey dawn crept through the window - she was early, early, early. Maybe no one would see. Anna yanked out a swath of tissue paper to dab her eyes with… and blow her nose in. And then she grabbed more. And more. Oh God-!

By the time the back room opened, her makeup-stained tissue paper was shoved into the pockets of her apron, she looked mostly presentable, and was able to flash a broad smile at Erik.

Acting.

“I brought donuts!” she said. Classic - always have a distraction. She gestured to the battered box sitting by the register. She didn’t expect Erik to eat them. “And I got the pre-made rose bouquets finished! I tried to, um, curl the ribbons so they looked a little prettier? I think that it’s only fair - just because some husband forgot his wife’s birthday doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve, you know, beautiful things. Actually she probably deserves them even more because-”

Her motormouth ran. After a few seconds, she heard it and cut herself off mid-sentence, clamping her lips together tightly. She hastily swiped away a little more eyeliner with her thumb, hoping Erik didn’t realize that she’d been crying about nothing except that his music sounded genius and she sounded…. Rusty. 

“I mean-” Anna took a deep breath “-good morning, Erik. I am at your service. Put me to work!”

𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐎𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄, 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐄 ! he must believe he’s being funny.    Succeeding in earning her attention with witty observations.    Efforts to which she offers nothing but a condescending smile as she closes the book she was about to buy.     The expression on her face suggesting faux contentment,    enlighten me then !     bright blue eyes scream      ❛     so   …   does that mean popular books and bestsellers can’t offer us,  readers,   a good experience and take us places that only exist in our imagination ?     —–     i’m sorry,    but i’ve always believed that people can be moved,   and will be moved in very different ways,   regardless of what book we decide to read     ❜