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Erik was depressed. I mean more than usual. Why? Because he was feeling very insecure about his deformity, that’s why. Well, naturally if you were born with the face of a corpse, don’t you think you would feel insecure too?
Normally, whenever he looked in the mirror, he was used to seeing his hideous reflection staring back at him. But today, for some reason, it bothered him more than usual, so much so that he couldn’t even take his mask off, not even in his lair, for fear of having to look at his own ugly face in the mirror.
But why does he feel this way today? This whole thing probably came about after Erik received a visit from Christine that morning; he always goes through an insecure self-loathing episode right after she visits him. And when he does, he always calls on his close friend (and only friend), Daroga.
“It was horrible, Daroga,” Erik practically sobbed. “She couldn’t even look at me!”
Daroga simply stood there, arms crossed, completely straight faced, just listening to Erik’s episodic rant.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Daroga said, rolling his eyes in slight frustration. He wasn’t too impressed. This was Erik’s third episode this week and quite frankly, he was starting to get tired of it. But Erik didn’t seem to notice Daroga’s annoyance. Instead, he ran up to the Persian, grabbed the neck of his tunic and started wailing like a madman.
“Help me!” Erik yelled. “I’m so ashamed! I’m spiraling, I’m spiraling!” Suddenly, without warning, Daroga raised his hand and let it down with a loud smack across Erik’s face. He was the only person who could slap Erik in the face without having to worry about getting murdered for it.
“Thanks, Daroga,” Erik said. That slap across the face really helped to calm him down. Just then, Daroga raised his hand to slap him again, but Erik stopped his hand in mid-air.
“No, it’s alright, Daroga! Spiraling is over!” Erik said quickly.
“Just do what I do when I have problems,” Daroga said. “SCREAM!!!!” He yelled the last word out so loud that it made Erik jump. “Come on. I’ll help you.”
Before Erik could protest, Daroga grabbed his arm and lead him out of his lair. Since the two of them knew their way around the catacombs and all the shortcuts, it only took about 15 minutes for them to get to the roof. Once there, Daroga took Erik to the edge of the roof that overlooked Paris, which looked just beautiful during the day as it did at night.
“Now, say it,” Daroga said after taking Erik’s mask off. Erik said nothing; he just stared off into the distance.
“Say it,” Daroga said, a little bit slower.
“I can’t,” Erik said quietly.
“Erik, you’re never going to feel better until you get this thing off your chest,” Daroga said.
Erik looked at his friend then down at the incredibly large rat that was clinging to the front of his shirt. “I know, Daroga,” he said. He then grabbed the rat and pulled it off his shirt, dropping it to the ground and watched it scurry away.
“Say it,” Daroga said. Erik hesitated. “Say it.” Daroga said again.
“I’m ugly,” Erik said quietly.
“You’re ugly and what?”
“Pale?” Erik asked, confused.
“No. Proud.”
“I’m ugly and I’m proud.”
“Good, now say it louder.”
“I’m ugly and I’m proud.” Erik said a little louder
“Louder!”
I’m ugly and I’m proud!”
“LOUDER!!”
“I’M UGLY AND I’M PROUD!!” Erik screamed at the top of his lungs. “I’M UGLY AND I’M PROUD!! I’M UGLY AND I’M PROUD!!!!”
Erik’s voice rang out through the streets of Paris. Many people stopped and looked around, confused as to what was going on. And, of course, all the people in the opera house heard Erik’s venting screams too, and they were just as confused as everyone else. Only Christine, who was in her dressing room getting ready for the next performance, knew who was screaming.
“Is that what he calls it?” she said to herself.
Meanwhile, Erik, having just vented his frustration by screaming his heart out, stood there at the edge of the roof, breathing heavily.
“That felt great!” he said, still breathing hard. “I feel empowered!”
“So, what do you want to do now?” Daroga asked.
“I don’t know,” Erik said. “How about we go to the opera?”
Daroga agreed that it sounded like an excellent idea since he believed that it could help him relax; dealing with Erik’s issues was really exhausting. Giving Erik back his mask, the two of them turned and made their way back into the opera house. And Erik promised that he wouldn’t drop the chandelier on anyone. Not this time, anyway.
~Fin~