| Gone Too Soon �Stand by for curtain call!� The stage manager shouted. Satine was in a state of bliss. She had just finished a magnificent performance of �Spectacular Spectacular� with her true love at her side. She smiled as she squeezed her hand tighter around Christian�s. Red and white rose petals fluttered to the ground as the audience roared on the other side of the curtain. The whole cast was backstage congratulating each other and preparing for curtain call. Satine was taking her place when all of a sudden a searing pain flowed through her chest. It was like nothing she had ever experienced, her knees buckled and she began to fall, dizzy with pain. She pulled a fistful of Christian�s shirt, trying desperately to get some air, but all that came out was a loud cough and a sputter for breath. Christian let himself fall to the floor, cradling his angel in his arms, whispering frantically, �Satine, Satine, what�s the matter?� There was no response, just rattling coughs and sharp gasps for air. �Darling, oh God, Satine, what�s the matter?� He searched her face, trying to understand what was happening. Christian�s heart was slamming heavily in his chest, he didn�t know what was wrong. That was when he saw the most horrible thing he could have imagined, a trail of blood was dripping from Satine�s chin. He slowly brought his finger to the crimson liquid, to see if this nightmare was really true. Tears filled his eyes when he looked at his finger covered in blood. �Somebody get some help!� he screamed, horrified at what was happening. Several people went running for a doctor as Christian turned his attention back to Satine, who was becoming more and more weak with each painful breath. She finally found the strength to whimper, �I�m so sorry Christian.� Through gasps, she continued, �I�m dying�dying,� her voice cracked. �Shh,� Christian pleaded. No, no, this isn�t happening. It can�t. �You�ll be all right,� he assured. Thinking if he said it enough, it would come true, �you�ll be all right.� The whole room had fallen silent and the sound of the cheering crowd was miles away now. �Hold me, hold me,� she begged, wanting to feel his touch once more before she left this life. Christian wrapped her in his arms, terrified at how weak and pained she sounded. �I love you,� he whispered and attempted a smile. Satine smiled back and breathed, �you�ve got to go on, Christian.� �I can�t go on without you,� he whimpered as large tears rolled down his face. �You�ve got so much to give,� she panted. Christian lowered his face and shook his head, wanting to wake up, wanting to make this stop. �Tell our story Christian,� she said. He shook his head again, �No,� he sobbed. Satine nodded and brushed her hand against his cheek, �promise me,� she whispered. He shook his head again, not willing to let her go, not yet. �Yes,� she breathed as she felt her last strength draining. But she had to know. �Promise me, that way, I�ll-I�ll always be with-you.� Christian nodded painfully, he simply couldn�t take it, he felt like his heart was being ripped in two. She sounded so final, like there was no other way. Satine took a few, last, gasping breaths as Christian brought his quivering lips to hers. He simply held her for a few moments, but when he looked at her again, she was gone. He couldn�t take her away from this. He couldn�t save her, and that tore him apart. Everyone in the room was overcome with grief. The Argentinean stood a few feet away, his face cold as stone. Toulouse�s makeup was streaked across his face as he witnessed his best friend lose his true love. Chocolat simply took off his ornately decorated crown in reverence to Satine. Christian sobbed uncontrollably now, letting huge droplets fall into Satine�s hair as he gently rocked her back and forth. He let out a wail of agony and hugged Satine�s lifeless body closer to him. He was dying inside. He let go of all his inhibitions as choking sobs escaped his lips. No one was there anymore, it was only himself and Satine. People slowly began to file off the stage, only a few unable to pull themselves from the tragedy in front of them. One of these was Ziddler. He was filled with unbearable guilt. Why had he made her go to the Duke? Why hadn�t he let her go off with Christian? Maybe then she would have been able to get away and find a doctor. But all that was pointless now, Satine was dead. Christian didn�t know how long he sat in the bed of rose petals, rocking Satine and whispering incoherent words through his tears. He was startled when the doctor arrived, along with his assistants. Christian gave them an evil look when they tried to take her away from him. �No,� he said defiantly and held onto Satine. The doctor tried to loosen his grasp but Christian only held onto Satine�s body tighter. He kissed her again, almost as if she were alive and was traumatized when her lips didn�t respond. Finally, several large men pried Christian off of Satine. He struggled with everything he had until he had no energy left and the men let him go. Suddenly, he was taken with rage as he saw them taking Satine�s body away. �No!� he screamed, lunging towards them as Chocolat grabbed him from behind. �You bastards!� he yelled, desperate to free himself. �You killed her! You didn�t come quick enough!� He was going mad, he didn�t even know what he was saying. �What the hell is wrong with you? You killed her! You killed her! And now she�s dead�dead�dead.� The doctor walked away, ignoring the pain that he had seen too many times. Chocolat turned Christian around and looked into his bloodshot eyes and shook him. �Christian, stop!� his strong voice boomed. Christian snapped out of his state and stared at the gentle man in front of him. Seeing that he had Christian�s attention, Chocolat continued, �What would she do if she saw you like this?� he asked, still not able to say her name. Christian nodded let his head fall onto Chocolat�s chest. He was completely drained and could barely tell where he was. Toulouse walked up to the two and took Christian�s hand. �I�ll walk him home, Chocowat,� he whispered. �I think Cwistian needs some west.� Chocolat nodded as the little man led Christian to the door. All the way home, he kept muttering, �Satine�she�s dead�no�� When they reached his garret, Toulouse gently placed Christian onto his bed and then shut the door behind him. Christian slept only for a few minutes. He was quickly startled awake by nightmarish memories and stumbled through his house looking for the only thing he knew would give him relief. He frantically searched his cabinets, throwing food onto the floor, until his hand came across a smooth surface. He pulled out the bottle of Absinthe and wildly tore off the cap, its rough edges burning his skin. He downed the entire bottle in seconds, but this time there was no green fairy, just a horrible haze of drab colors as the room spun around him. He only just made it to his bed, before passing out and would remain unconscious for the entirety of the following day. Later that night, a soft glow entered Christian�s room. A woman dressed all in white, with flowing red curls framing her porcelain face, drifted in, a long flowing skirt fluttering behind her. She smiled when she saw the typewriter that Toulouse had retrieved from the pawn shop, settled safely on Christian�s desk. Her eyes filled with crystal tears when her eyes fell upon Christian. He was breathing erratically and his body was splayed across the bed; the bed they had made love on only days ago. Satine shook the memories and sat beside Christian, her soft glow illuminating his pained face. She placed her hand upon his chest and let it rest there until his breathing slowed. Satine softly stroked his cheek and kissed his forehead. She lay down beside Christian and wrapped her arms around him and stayed that way for almost an hour, content just to feel his body again. But she knew she had to go. �Come what may,� she sang as she slowly stood up and drifted towards the window and continued, �I will love you, until the end of time.� Satine gave Christian one last, longing look and whispered, �Good bye, my darling. I�ll be waiting,� and disappeared out the window and into the night. ************ Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and then, one not so very special day, Christian sat down at his typewriter, fuelled with a new energy and the promise he made Satine. And with that energy, he wrote their story; a story about a time, a story about a place, a story about the people; but above all things, a story about love, a love that will live forever. |