A Story About Love
Chapter
Ten - The Greatest Thing
For this chapter:
+++ Brady sings
--- Chloe sings
*** Both sing.
((( Other cast members sing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Ten: The Greatest Thing
Brady stood outside the Moulin Rouge, hearing the music, and his lyrics as it seeped through the walls to the outside. He came to find out the truth from Chloe. Was she really just a courtesan who was after money and security, or did she love him as he loved her? He walked around to the side of the building, trying to find a back way into the theatre.
Onstage, Zidler was playing his part as the Maharajah as Phillip sat in the front row of the packed crowd. He had a smile of satisfaction on his face, and in the seat next to him were two dozen red roses. Roses that he planned on giving his courtesan after the show was over.
Zidler waved his fake sword on stage and shouted, "She is mine!"
His line cued the beginning of an elaborate musical number filled with Hindi courtesans, an evil Maharajah, and Toulouse as the magical sitar, who could only speak the truth.
((( I only speak the truth
I only speak the truth
I only speak the truth
I only speak the truth
I only speak the truth
I only speak the truth
I only speak the truth
I only speak the truth )))
Brady found an unlocked window in the back of the theatre and slipped through it quietly. He made his way backstage, but he did not go unnoticed. Phillip's henchman, Warner, spotted him almost immediately and took his gun out of his jacket preparing to chase after the young writer. However, Brady was completely unaware that his life was in danger as he darted around the backstage areas, searching for Chloe.
Onstage, Nini led a chorus of dancers and singers in a high-energy Hindi inspired number.
((( Chamma chamma he chamma chamma
Chamma chamma, baajare meri bendariya
Re chamma chamma, baajere meri bendariya
Tere paas aawoun teri
Saanson mein samavoun
Chamma chamma he chamma chamma
Chamma chamma, baajare meri bendariya
Re chamma chamma, baajere meri bendariya
baajere meri bendariya
bendariya
He chamma chamma he chamma chamma
Chamma chamma, baajare meri chamma
baajare meri bendariya
baajere meri
Tere paas aawoun teri
Saanson mein samavoun
Saanson mein samavoun raja
Saanson mein samavoun raja )))
Chloe made her onstage entrance, amidst a throng of dancers. She was bathed in blue light and carried to center stage.
+++ Ohh oh oh, oh oh oh oh... +++
She paused for a second, a sudden rush of dizziness making her stop. She regained her composure a moment later and continued on with her performance.
+++ Kiss... Hand... Diamonds best friend.
Kiss... Grand... Diamonds best friend.
Men cold... Girls old...
And we all lose our charms in the end.
Ohh... ohh... ohh...ohhh!
Diamonds are a
Diamonds are a
Diamonds are a
Diamonds are a
Diamonds are a
Diamonds are a
Diamonds are a
Diamonds are a
Girl's... best... friend. +++
Zidler wrapped his arm around her and stood behind her, growling out his line as the evil Maharajah. "She is mine..."
Phillip's smiled was tinged with a bit of insanity as he repeated Zidler's line from his seat in the audience. "She is mine."
The curtain closed and Chloe quickly ran to her dressing room for her next costume change. Meanwhile, Toulouse and the Argentinean were preparing for their next entrances as Toulouse was still discussing the mystery behind Chloe leaving Brady for Phillip.
"I know she still loves him... There's got to be a reason..."
"How about one of them is a duke, and the other..." The Argentinean's narcolepsy decided to strike at that moment and he fell asleep before finishing his sentence. Toulouse walked on to his platform that raised him high above the stage, still shaking his head in confusion.
"Something's wrong..."
The Argentinean's sleeping body slipped through the trap door and went underneath the set, exactly where Brady was currently hiding. He took the white coat from the Argentinean's sitar player costume and quickly put it on.
Chloe was in her dressing room, getting trussed up in her white gown for the final part of the show. She was having a hard time getting ready with all of the violent coughing. Marie forced some medicine down her throat to help ease the cough until the show was over.
Warner caught up to Zidler backstage, as Brady had slipped out of sight. "The boy is here..."
Zidler's face filled with worry. Why would Brady show up here now? "I told Chloe that if he were to come near her, he would be killed."
Warner growled angrily before walking away. "He very soon will be..."
Toulouse had been listening in and watching Warner from his platform overhead. Now he knew exactly what had happened, and now he had to find Brady so he could warn him. "He will be killed... That's it! That's why she's pushing him away -- to save him! That's it, that's it! BRAAAA-DY!!"
Toulouse looked around frantically for his young friend but couldn't see him. The platform rose higher and he clutched tightly to the ropes. "Oh God, this is high up..."
Brady avoided Warner successfully and found his way to Chloe's dressing room. He stood in her doorway, his hand clutching the stack of money tightly, as his eyes flashed with anger and determination. "I've come to pay my bill..."
Chloe stared at him in fear and shook her head. "You shouldn't be here, Brady. Just leave."
She walked past him into the backstage area, but Brady followed, marching behind her angrily. He latched on to her arm and forced her to face him. "You made me believe that you loved me! Why shouldn't I pay you?"
Chloe was gasping for breath, her lungs failing on her as she stared into his eyes. He was desperate for answers, desperate to find out if he really meant nothing to her. But, she couldn't give him those answers. Not now and maybe never. "Please... Brady..."
She gasped again, hot tears rolling down her face as Marie shouted at them. "She's got to get on the stage!"
Zidler was onstage, looking towards the door where Chloe and the Argentinean were supposed to make their entrance from, as he shouted his lines to the audience. "Jealousy has driven the sitar player into hiding!"
Brady stared at her in confusion, wondering how she could be so cold at one moment and then a sobbing mess the next. She truly was a great actress, as he could hardly decipher between what was real and what was not. "If it's your job, you did it very, very well... Why can't I pay you like everyone else does?"
Chloe moved away from him and ran up the backstage stairs to where she would have to enter and once again play the part of the Hindi courtesan. Brady followed her, persistent in his pursuit of answers. Chloe looked at him, pleading with her eyes for him to leave, hoping to save his life. "Brady, it's nothing... Just leave..."
She could hear Zidler's voice booming on the other side of the set. "But I have found him!"
And that's when she looked over Brady's shoulder and saw Warner. His gun was aimed at Brady and he was rushing towards him. She looked back at Brady and through her tears, continued pleading with him. "Go!. Please go!"
"But if it wasn't real... Why can't I pay you?"
Above them, Toulouse was shouting his name, trying to warn Brady of the impending danger. And, on the other side of the set, Zidler was calling out the cue for Chloe and the Argentinean's entrance, but the Argentinean was nowhere to be found. "Open the doors!"
Brady continued trying to hand her the money that was clutched tightly in his hand. "Let me pay. Let me pay! Tell me it wasn't real! Tell me you don't love me!"
Warner was about to fire when the doors opened, leaving Chloe and Brady exposed to the audience as he continued begging her for a response. "Tell me you don't love me!"
Warner backed away and tried to stay out of sight. The cast and audience were both silent and shocked, and the expression on Phillip's face showed but disappointment and anger. The boy had come after all, and Warner had yet to do the job that Phillip had requested of him.
Zidler remained in character and tried his best to play off Brady's sudden appearance to the audience. "Ha Ha Ha! I am not fooled! Though he has shaved off his beard and adopts a disguise, mine eyes do not lie! For it is he! The same, penniless sitar player! Driven mad by jealousy!"
The audience made a noise of understanding, figuring that a new actor had been brought in to replace the Argentinean. Brady was holding Chloe by the arm and he brought her down the steps and on to the stage. She fell to the floor of the stage, her face covered in tears, both sobbing and gasping for air at the same time.
Brady looked to Phillip in the audience as he spoke the line that he had written for the penniless sitar player to say to the Maharajah. "This woman is yours now."
He threw his money at her, as the tears began to build in his eyes. "I've paid my whore. I owe you nothing. And you... You are *nothing* to me."
Chloe was crying heavily as Brady stared down at her. He felt his own tears falling, as his sobs erupted from his throat. He spoke in punctuated tones, between his soft sobbing, as his heart was breaking into a million pieces. "Thank you... For curing me of my ridiculous obsession with love."
He walked off the stage and into the aisle of the theatre. Brady locked eyes with Phillip as if to tell him there was no reason to worry, the Hindi courtesan chose the Maharajah, just as his courtesan had chosen the Duke. He continued down the aisle, walking towards the exit. The room was silent, as Chloe was still crying in a heap on the stage.
Toulouse was still up on his platform, watching sadly from above, and realizing that he couldn't remember his next line.
Zidler continued on with the show, although he knew that Brady's display was not an act. "This sitar player doesn't love you! See, he flees the kingdom!"
Zidler went and kneeled by Chloe's side. He spoke softly so that only she could hear, trying to reassure her that she had done what was for the best. "Pumpkin, it's for the best. You know it is. The show *must* go on."
Chloe shook her head, unable to speak as Zidler lifted her to her feet. He raised his voice, turning back to the audience to continue the show. "And now my bride, it is time for you to raise your voice to the heavens and say your wedding vows!"
Brady took the Argentinean's jacket off and threw it to the floor, continuing his walk towards the door. Toulouse suddenly remembered his line, the most important one in the show and screamed for Brady to stop.
"I've got it! I've got it! BRAAAAAADY! STOOOOOOPPPP!! The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return!"
A complete silence fell over the theatre and Chloe shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she realized what she had to do. She had spent her whole life doing what others told her to do, and for one moment before she died, she had to do what her heart told her to do. Chloe couldn't let Brady walk out that door with a broken heart, so she turned to sing towards him, softly at first, but increasing with volume and power as she sang each line.
--- Never knew
I could feel like this.
Like I've never seen the sky before.
Want to vanish inside your kiss.
Every day I'm loving you more and more... ---
Chloe walked to the edge of the stage, and Brady turned around. He wasn't sure if she was being true, or just playing her part. So, Chloe continued, singing out louder, pouring her heart out to him in front of a theatre full of people.
--- Listen to my heart.
Can you hear it sing?
Come back to me...
And forgive everything... ---
Chloe gasped loudly, but quickly regained her composure. Brady had a few tears running down his face and he listened to her song. Her words connected to her heart in a way that he had never heard it before, telling him that she really did love him, and wanted him by her side.
--- Seasons may change, winter to springg...
She paused and whispered to him, with all of the sincerity and meaning in her heart, proving that her words were the truth. "I love you."
--- Until the end of time... ---
Brady was clearly struck by her words, and he responded with his own, as Chloe smiled with relief. He walked towards the stage, his voice filled with strength and truth.
+++ Come what may
Come what may
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you... +++
--- I will love you... ---
+++ Until my dying day... +++
--- Dying day... ---
Brady stepped on to the stage and Chloe laid her hands on his chest, smiling as they sang to each other.
*** Come what may... ***
+++ Come what may... +++
--- Come what may... ---
*** I will love you until my dying... ***
Warner had found his way to the side of the stage and had his gun cocked and ready to fire. Phillip gave him a nod of approval, and just as he was about to fire, Toulouse swung down from the platform and knocked the gun out of his hand. "Brady! He's got a gun! They're trying to kill you!"
Chaos broke out on stage as the cast began running back and forth. The Argentinean had woken up and he burst through the doors shouting, "No problem! Go back to work!"
The cast assembled again, beginning the grand finale, as Brady and Chloe held on to each other at center stage.
((( No matter what you say...
You shouldn't stand in our way.
You've got to stand your ground!
For Freedom, Beauty, Truth and Love!
Children of the Revolution... )))
--- I'll fly away... ---
+++ My gift is my song... +++
((( No, you won't fool the Children of the Revolution! )))
--- I'll fly away... ---
+++ My gift is my song! +++
((( Come what may! )))
*** I will love you! ***
((( Come what may! )))
Phillip stood from his chair, realizing that the power had somehow been taken out of his hands. He marched down the aisle angrily, and came upon Warner's gun that had somehow ended up on the floor of the theatre. He picked it up and stared at it thoughtfully, wondering if he didn't have to leave after all.
*** Yes, I will love you! ***
((( Come what may! )))
*** I will love you,
Until my dying... ***
Phillip turned around and aimed the gun towards the two lovers, he began running down the aisle, shouting insanely. "MY WAY! MY WAY!"
But before he could shoot, Zidler realized he had far too much of Phillip and his psychotic games, so he thrust his fist into the duke's face, knocking him to the ground, and knocking the gun far far away.
*** ...Day! ***
The curtain closed and the audience began to roar and applaud with delight. Brady and Chloe were safe together, and Brady smiled happily at his love, as she held on to his hands.
The stage manager walked by shouting to the rest of the cast. "Stand by for curtain call! Dancers positions please!"
Brady kissed her sweetly and continued to smile, as the rest of the cast moved about the stage to prepare for their curtain call. He tried to lead her away, but Chloe stopped in her tracks. She began coughing loudly, and wheezing. Brady turned back to her and looked at her in confusion.
"Chloe!"
Her coughing became louder and more violent and she fell into his arms. Brady gently brought her to the floor, holding her on his lap. "Chloe... What's the matter? Tell me... Chloe... What's the matter?"
Brady noticed a trickle of blood coming from her mouth, and as she coughed even more of blood spattered his white shirt. He realized how seriousness her illness really was and turned to shout for help. "God... Oh my god! SOMEONE GET SOME HELP!"
The rest of the cast watched in silence, and Zidler shouted for someone to find the doctor.
Chloe looked up into Brady's blue eyes, barely able to speak. She had to apologize, not only for the pain she had caused him but also for leaving him far too early. "I'm sorry, Brady. I -- I -- I'm dying."
Brady held her tightly, not knowing if he was trying to keep her calm or keep himself calm. He couldn't believe what she was saying, not knowing how she could be taken away from him like this. "Shhh..."
"I'm so sorry..."
"You'll be alright. You'll be alright. You'll be alright." He kept repeating himself, thinking that the more he said it, the more likely it would be true.
Chloe's skin felt like ice, although she was covered in sweat. "I'm cold... I'm cold... cold... Hold me..."
Brady held her tightly, hoping to warm her body with his own heat. He sniffled as a few tears fell down his cheeks and whispered to her. "I love you..."
"You've got to go on, Brady"
Brady's words broke through his tears. He couldn't live without her, he just couldn't. "Can't go on without you though..."
Chloe shook her head. She had to make him understand. He had a beautiful talent that he needed to share with the world. And it wasn't fair for her death to rob him of his life. "You've got so much... to give. Tell our story, Brady."
"No... No..."
"Yes, yes.... Promise me, promise me... Yes..." Chloe could barely speak, her voice was so quiet, and she felt herself fading away from him, as everyone else watched in silence.
Finally, Brady nodded in understanding. He would make a promise to his love, and he would keep it no matter what. "Yes...
Chloe looked into his sad eyes and knew that he would keep his promise. She was grateful to have known his love, however briefly it lasted. It was a gift to be loved by him, and to love him in return, and now she knew she had to let go. "I will... I'll always be with you..."
Chloe took a few sharp breaths and then fell lifeless in his arms. Brady began sobbing, a guttural noise that erupted from his throat. The sound of a man that had been torn into pieces, suffering the greatest loss he would ever know. He leaned forward and planted one last kiss on her lips as his tears fell on to her face. He continued sobbing and shut her lifeless blue eyes with the tips of his fingers.
The audience continued to roar, but the people behind the curtain could only hear one thing. The sobbing of the man who had lost his love.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Months later.)
((( There was a boy...
A very strange enchanted boy... )))
Brady had spent months holed up in his modest apartment, letting the days pass him by as he grieved the loss of Chloe. He had let his facial hair grow into a beard, and although he had promised Chloe to tell their story, he had been unable to find words to express it until this day.
On this particular day, Brady went to the window and looked out at the morning sky. He ran a hand through his beard with a sigh, and turned to the bird that had once belonged to Chloe. Brady opened the cage and let the bird fly free, watching it as it soared into the sky. Chloe had always wanted to fly away from the Moulin Rouge, and now she was with the angels in heaven.
He took a deep breath in and sat back down at his typewriter, writing the ending to the story he had promised her to share with the world.
"Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and then -- one not-so-very-special day, I went to my typewriter, I sat down, and I wrote our 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. The End."
((( The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love in return... )))
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
See the EPILOGUE for more... You think that's the end?! HA! I say! HA! It only feels like the END!
And no, I don't know what all the Hindi words mean. :(