Suddenly, it seemed to grow very cold in the room and then a dark purple light began to shine all around him. The light subsided and a tall figure wearing black jeans, boots and a black leather jacket stood there...
"Are you the spirit of Christmas yet to come?" Babbit asked, shaking in front of the dark figure.
The spirit nodded its head in a yes manner.
Although the spirit was fully there, the room was so dark Babbit couldn't see it's face.
Suddenly, the scene changed, no longer were they in Babbit's home, but somewhere else. The two stood standing in the local cemetery.
"Spirit, why did you bring me here?" Asked Babbit.
Just then, he heard something that sounding like crying.
The dark-clothed spirit pointed towards the sound, and Babbit realized it wanted him to see who was crying. He took a few steps, then stopped and faced the spirit.
"Spirit, I..." Babbit paused as he got a good look at the spirit's face. To his surprise, it looked like Dolenz's friend Mike.
The spirit that looked like Mike simply pointed once again at the sound of crying.
"Oh, spirit, I fear you more than the other spirits." Babbit said quietly, "Can't you speak?"
The spirit grabbed Babbit's shoulder and turned him around towards the crying sound. Babbit got the hint and slowly walked over to where a funeral was being held. As he got closer, he recognized his employee Dolenz along with Mike and Peter. They were the source of the crying. Coming closer, Babbit saw a casket on the ground next to an open grave with a minister saying a few words over it. A few other people were there too, friends of the deceased, including an elderly man whose face was etched with pain.
The minister finished his prayer, sprinkled some dirt on the casket, made the sign of the cross over it and walked away. The other people started to walk away as well, some leaving flowers, others touching the casket as they walked by. In the end, only Micky, Mike, Peter and the older man were standing there weeping. Babbit had a sick feeling in his stomach as to who was in that casket. He started to walk away, but was stopped by the spirit, who pointed once again at the three crying men. Reluctantly, Babbit came closer.
"Poor Davy." Micky wailed, "He was so young and to die like this!"
"He saved that child from drowning, but now lost his own life." Peter sobbed.
The elderly man touched the casket, his face streaked with tears. "My Davy. My grandson." He wept. He then walked over to the other three.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Jones," Mike said, wiping his eyes, "We did our best, but we couldn't afford a doctor."
"I know, Mike." Davy's grandfather said, "Davy was always sickly, and this simply...hastened the inevitable."
"That miser Babbit doesn't pay me enough!" Micky said angrily, "If I was making more money, we could've taken him to a doctor."
"This is his fault!" Peter exclaimed, "I hope he rots in..." Peter's sobs overtook him and he couldn't finish his sentence.
The others were surprised at Peter's outburst, since he was usually so kind and gentle. But Davy's death had changed all that. The cemetery men came over to bury the casket, so the four of them left to go back to their car. Babbit watched as the men lowered the casket into the ground and started to throw dirt upon it.
"Oh, no, no, no." Babbit whispered as tears fell from his eyes, "This is all my fault, my fault!" He looked at the stone-faced spirit. "Spirit, is this what must happen or what may happen in the future? Tell me!"
But the spirit folded his arms across his chest and the scene changed once again. This time they were in a disreputable part of town, in front of a second-hand shop. The spirit pointed at the door and Babbit obediently went inside. Inside was an old lady. Babbit recognized her as a homeless lady who often walked along the beach. She had a bag of things with her, which she placed on the front counter and opened up.
"Well now, Linda, what did you scrounge up today?" The man behind the counter said with a small smile.
"I hit the jackpot!" Linda said happily. "A rich old man died and I got to him before anybody else did!"
"Let's see what you got." The man replied.
Linda brought out curtains and other articles of clothing. She placed them on the counter. Babbit stood behind her, wondering why the spirit had brought him here in the first place. As he watched the items come out of the bag, he suddenly realized something: those items belonged to him!
"What are you doing with my clothes?" Babbit demanded of Linda, but of course, she didn't hear him. "Spirit, why is she selling my belongings?"
The spirit gave what seemed to Babbit a tiny shrug, but did nothing else. The man behind the counter looked at all the clothes and other items Linda had brought in.
"Not bad, not bad at all..." He said thoughtfully. "I'll give you fifty dollars for the lot, take it or leave it."
"Fifty dollars!" Linda shouted, "You're a thief!"
"You try any other place, and they won't be as generous as me, my dear." The man smiled.
"Oh, alright." Linda sighed and held out her hand.
Babbit tried to stop the man from giving Linda the money, but his hand went right through them. He glared at the spirit still standing nearby.
"Spirit, do something!" Babbit demanded.
The spirit did do something. Suddenly, the scene changed once again and Babbit found himself at city hall. He often went there to file claims and lawsuits. Babbit looked at the spirit once again.
"Why here, spirit? I wish you would talk to me!"
The spirit pointed to a group of men standing around the front steps having a coffee break. Babbit recognized them from the deeds office. He walked over to them.
"Well, I guess everybody has to die sometime." One man said.
"Yeah, even someone with all the money he had." Another man answered, shaking his head.
"What did he die from?" Another man asked.
"Who know, who cares." A fourth man said, "All I can say is good riddance! I was tired of him coming to our office pestering us for stuff."
"Didn't have a decent bone in his body." The first man said, "He was always rude, even when we tried to be nice to him, and I feel sorry for all those poor people he evicted."
"I wonder who's getting his money?" The second man asked.
"I know I'm not." The third man said. Everybody laughed at that.
Babbit had a sinking feeling of who they were talking about, but asked the spirit who it was. The spirit just shook his head.
"Come now, spirit!" Babbit said, "Who was that man that those men seemed to love to hate?"
Suddenly, the scene changed one more time. Once again, they were in the local cemetery. But this time they were in a poorly kept section, with weeds all around. Old gravestones, some toppled over, were everywhere. The air seemed to grow cold once again.
"Spirit, are you going to tell me who that unfortunate man was?" Babbit asked, starting to shake.
The spirit pointed to a grave just a few feet away. Babbit had a bad feeling about this, and tried to stall for time.
"Spirit, tell me, please! Can what I've seen be changed? Are these things set in stone?" Babbit fell to his knees. "Please spirit, I'm so afraid!"
But the spirit grabbed Babbit's chin and pointed to the grave once again. Babbit crawled over to the stone marker, all covered in moss and debris. He brushed it away to get a better look at the name. He read the name and let out a scream. The stone read:
Ebenezer Babbit
Followed by the years of his birth and death.
Babbit fell against the marker and started to sob. He was the man who was so hated, so despised by those men! His stinginess helped bring about Davy's death! Babbit sobbed like never before for what seemed like hours. Finally, he got back up on his knees and faced the spirit.
"Spirit, I promise I will amend my life!" He gasped, "I will be more loving and kind to my fellow human beings! I will work to change what I have seen, please let me go back so I can make things right! Please, please, spirit!" Babbit grabbed onto the spirit's legs.
Suddenly, everything went black and Babbit found himself back in his bedroom. He looked at his hands and saw he was grabbing the leg of his bed. Stunned, he stood up and sat once again on his bed.
In the distance, he heard church bells ring...
Chapter 6
Chapter 8
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