The Redemption Of Ebeneezer

[TheDruid-3X3]

This is a sequel story of how the changes in Ebeneezer Scrooge went on to benefit others as well as his own redemption which also redeemed the Spirit of his past partner Jacob Marley.

It goes:

Tis the afternoon of Christmas Eve and with several hours of the work day to go good Ebeneezer gets up from his desk and goes over to his clerk Cratchit’s desk and puts an arm around his shoulders and gives a kindly pat and says, “Oh Bob, tis time for work to cease and for us to collect your fine family to go off to the Christmas Party so that we can make merry this evening and on to tomorrow!”. Without hesitation Cratchit puts his pen down, closes his ink well and accounts book and replies, “Yes my good Sir”. They both get up and go out to the street both with a comrades embrace giving salutations to the people about the markets as they make their way to the Cratchit Household. 

They arrive and Mrs. Cratchit and the assorted young Cratchits give them a warm welcome as they run about getting their coats on to go out to Ebeneezer’s Nephew’s Christmas Party which has become an annual tradition with them since the Miracle that happened seven Christmases ago. Out comes Martha with her Husband who she married the year before as well as Peter who is now passed his apprenticeship and is now managing a manufacturing plant down by the river that now uses one of those newfangled steam engines to run its machines producing fine furniture. Then around the corner runs the not so Tiny Tim who now is in his mid teens and has gotten so well from his early ailments that he is now a fine striker for his private school’s football team. Tim now wears the Team Pin on his suit lapel with pride. Mary and Belinda Cratchit come out and they all give each other warm greetings with “Merry Christmas”s all around. Bob Cratchit then says, “Well, lets all get our coats on and get off to Nephew Fred’s Party to make Christmas Eve Merry”. The Crachits all scurry about and get ready and they are off with Bob carefully locking the door after them taking a great bounty of gifts for all that are at the party.

They hail a couple of horse drawn cabs and get in with Ebeneezer paying the fares and off they go down the street and around a few corners later arrive at a nice looking hall that Ebeneezer had rented for the rather large party that it has become in the past few Christmases as Tenants of the Charity Boarding House that Ebeneezer bought and now runs as a low cost housing for those who are in need of housing while they need to get their lives in order. They pay off the cab drivers with a fine tip and go in with their parcels and gifts to be greeted by Nephew Fred and his wife Janice with warm hugs and kisses. Into the main hall they all go bringing the gifts for the grand Christmas Tree that has been set up.

Then out of the kitchen comes Ebeneezer’s beloved Alice who he reconnected with when he sought her out and found that she was involved with helping the destitute and poor and rekindled their relationship with Ebeneezer getting involved with her charity work and with his immense fortune was able to invest in her hope and dream of running a Charity Boarding House in which she is now manager giving affordable housing to those who work in the local neighborhood. When they see each other, they rush together and give each other a warm hugging and kissing with several, “I love yous” and “Merry Christamses”. Arm in arm, they go into the main hall and start welcoming in the tenants who had been good in the past year and thus gotten invited to his party. 

First to arrive is Samuel Wilkins who Ebeneezer organized a job at a local textile factory enabling him to make a good wage and after paying off the 20 Pounds that he owed but now has a wife and small baby. They are now tenants in the affordable Charity Housing Building and help with the gardens as well as pay their rents on time as gratitude for their being so well treated by the Scrooges as they are now known as after proving how much he had changed, Alice accepted him back and they were finally married three Christmases ago and now happily man and wife.

Several helpers have set up tables and chairs and bring out the food for a buffet style dinner. When things are set up and after an hour, most of the people who had been invited had arrived, Ebeneezer and Alice Scrooge take their places at the head table and after sitting for a time watching a few more people to arrive and then shown to the places at the dining table. After a time, Ebeneezer decides to get things started and gets up taping the side of a tea cup making a ringing sound that signals all to quiet down and pay heed to Ebeneezer. 

Ebeneezer then gets up and starts his speech, “Greetings to all and to all a Merry Christmas. You are once again welcome to the annual Christmas Dinner for all that have done good business to my family’s big Christmas Party. Once again, with good management by my beloved wife Alice, the Dear Heart Manor Charity Housing is once again showing a profit with all helping to keep expenses down and the good people living their paying their rents on time with those in need of work given positions in the small furniture factory that I set up to help those getting apprenticeships in wood working. The furniture is of such good quality made with such loving care that it is once again in good demand across the country and even has been exported abroad. Last year shows once again that one can be good and generous and yet profitable as well. With such good blessings, may all enjoy their rightful shares of plenty and happiness that we all have. A Merry Christmas to all!”. 

With that, everyone applauds and cheers for the Scrooges and then Ebeneezer turns to the kitchen and shouts, “Well, Mrs. Dilber, is the Christmas Dinner ready?”. Mrs. Dilber quickly emerges from the kitchen saying, “All is ready. Everyone can start helping themselves!”. Ebeneezer then motions to the Christmas Buffet Table and declares, “Please all help yourselves!”. 

And with that, the tenants customers, Cratchits and Nephew Fred’s Family start filing by getting plates and helping themselves. When this starts, Ebeneezer goes over to the little stage where a small hired band has set up and they start to play the song ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’ for the diners. 

For the next hour, they all enjoy dining with boys from the local work house making a few shillings by clearing away and washing the dishes. When the dinner is finished and all have had their fill, the small band then starts playing dance polkas and everyone gets up and starts to dance. Everyone has a grand time with the band taking the occasional break to enjoy a plate of the turkey dinners that Ebeneezer has had brought in. Every Christmas Party like this takes so many turkeys that the local butcher shops have trouble finding enough to keep them supplied especially since on Christmas Day, Ebeneezer and Alice once again opens the Hall for the destitute homeless people with donations coming from the various business concerns of the neighbourhood helping to pay for the event.

They dance and sign the night away and have a jolly good time into the late hours when all have had their fills and the partyers now make their ways home. Ebeneezer and Alice along with the Cratchit Family stay behind and clean about making the place ready for the next days Christmas Dinner for the Homeless. They then lock up and make their way home although they stop at Ebeneezer’s house for a few drinks before going to bed for some much needed rest for the next days event. As they get into bed, Ebeneezer and Alice have a warm kiss and snuggle and then have soft “Merry Christmas” into each others ears as they then drift off to sleep.

Then as Ebeneezer is slumbering away, he starts having a dream finding himself coming into a light and is once again before the Ghost of Christmases to Come. Looking onto this apparition, “Oh Spirit of Christmases to come, why have you come to visit me again this night?”. This time, the Spirit takes Ebeneezer by the hand and shows him in bed with Alice and takes him to show what transpires in the next few days and shows Alice awakening Christmas Morning to find that from the strain of putting on such a large Christmas Party that Ebeneezer had over exerted his good heart and had passed away on Christmas Eve. “Oh No!”, cries Scrooge and he falls to the feet of the Spirit of Christmas Future going on with, “Say its not so! Say its not so! I had so much more to make up for my past sins of indifferences!”. 

But gently, the Spirit of Christmas Future picks up Scrooge and turns to show Scrooge something remarkable. It is once again the Ghost of Jacob Marley who now appears to be in a much better state without his locks and chains. Marley comes forward and gives his old friend a reassuring hug and hand shake saying, “Scrooge, your time has come as it does for all living things and I am here to thank you for not only changing yourself but since you did so much for our fellow man in my name as well as yours with our company of Scrooge & Marley and even paid for some restorations for my final resting place, you helped free me from the my ponderous chains that I forged upon myself as well as yours. Also, I was able to walk amongst the people you had helped with your new found goodness and see their happiness that you did. And since it was from help of the Spirits of my procuring, as you took away the links of your chain, the same good deeds helped take away the links of my ponderous chain. For that, I am able to show you what is in store for you”.

And with that, Scrooge, Marley and Spirit of Christmas Future goes forth. They first show the unfortunate event as the dearly beloved Alice awaking to find that her Ebeneezer had passed away during the night and her crying and shrieking for help. But then finds that the look on Ebeneezer’s morbid face is of good and peacefulness with a kindly look of a someone who had passed on with peace in his heart. Alice then settles down and gives him one last hug before slowly getting up to make her way out of the bedroom to get dressed and make her way out to make notification to those.

Then as Scrooge is shown how the next days Christmas Dinner goes on with Alice and the Crachits making the sad announcement that Ebeneezer had passed away on Christmas Eve and all breaking into tears of sadness. But the Charity Dinner goes on and all the homeless are fed.

As those shadows are shown, they go on to find that there is a splendid funeral with 100s of grateful public who had benefited from his new found goodness with Bob Cratchit giving the eulogy, “With great gratitude that I benefited from the goodness of Ebeneezer Scrooge who by some miracle came to become one of the best benefactors of my and my family’s lives. With his influences and help, my one son Timothy is now one of his school’s finest football players instead of being a cripple. With his help, many people were able to get loans are lower rates of interest to make things better for themselves. With his financial support, there are now available lower rate housing for those who are honest and hard working who are of lower income bracket. I hope that whoever takes the reigns of Scrooge & Marley Finance will endeavour to carry on that fine work. Thank you all for your attendance to this funeral and to all bid farewell to such as example of how a person can change themselves for the better. Thank you and peace to all”. With that Cratchit pulls out a rose and puts it on the coffin that is to one side.

The next shadow shown is that of Alice with Nephew Fred continuing to run the charitable business in the profitable and fine fashion with Cratchit being made a partner as per Ebeneezer’s will causing the finance company to become known as ‘Scrooge, Marly & Cratchit’ with more Charity Lodges being set up to not only benefit the people of lower income but for the elderly veterans who had served in the Napoleonic Wars.

Then off to the graveyard and Ebeneezer is show a beautiful marble mausoleum being built and him being laid to rest with annual bouquets of flowers being placed before the entrance. Then as time went by, his Alice also passing away and being laid to rest with him in the fine mausoleum with another great funeral for her and her fine humanitarian work with even more annual flowers and remembrances being made. 

With that, Ebeneezer Scrooge becomes pleased to see that the changes he made in himself had created such good things and with that, both Ebeneezer and Marley take each other by arm and arm and slowly walk into the light of the afterworld of heaven leaving the Spirit of Christmas Future looking and then turning back to his own path.

[woody2]

has anybody got any veras........

[TheDruid-3X3]

In the Final Line, I meant to state that Ghost of Xmas Future went along his way after seeing off the Spirits of Marley & Scrooge.

So I have edited the Final Sentence to say Future instead of the Past.

 

3X3