Marley: Stave III
In Stave III, Marley continues his quest to convince the spirits to help Ebenezer.
Marley
by Thomas Broderick
Stave III
A year had passed, and another Christmas season fell over London. Early on Christmas Eve, Marley reluctantly left Scrooge’s side in hope of discovering where the Ghost of Christmas Present might appear. There were many festive and joyful places throughout the city, but which was correct?
Throughout the day, Marley searched long and wide to no avail. There were carolers, musicians, couples, and children, but no sign of the spirit. There was none of his kind here.
Night fell. The carolers went home, the couples and families to their feasts or church. Marley was alone.
The clock began to strike midnight. Around Marley, the street lamps shone brighter with each bell.
“He has arrived,” Marley whispered.
With the light came a warmth Marley had never felt. As the sound of the bells faded, so did the light. Revealed was a bearded man in a green robe. His right hand held up a golden torch, which continued to emanate comforting warmth. Around him was a magnificent feast that radiated the love and happiness and glory of the holiday.
“Merry Christmas,” the spirit greeted before taking a sip from a golden chalice. “It is rare that I see one of your kind here.”
Marley nodded. “My kind quickly forgets the joy this the season brings.”
“True enough. But you have remembered. There must be a reason.”
“There is, spirit. My name is Jacob Marley. I take it you are the Ghost of Christmas Present.”
“Indeed.” The spirit laughed. "I am one of many who have gone by that name."
Marley took his first steps toward the spirit. “I know you have an important job this day, but I must speak to you." Marley clasped his hands together. “I plead with you to assist me.”
The spirit moved his torch over Marley’s chains. “I’m afraid there is little I can do to help you.”
“It is not for me, but a friend still among the living. Last year, I was instructed by another spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past, to seek you out, that you could help me save my friend. He still lives, but will share my fate if he does not mend his ways.”
The spirit nodded while pulling at his beard. “Let us see this friend of yours. Lead the way.”
“Thank you, spirit. Thank you!”
Marley led the spirit to just outside Scrooge and Marley. The two stood at the window. Inside, Scrooge was still inspecting facts and figures. Next to him were the remains of a meagre meal.
Marley and the spirit walked inside, at which point the spirit cast his torch onto Scrooge’s face. The flame’s light and warmth illuminated everything in brilliance, but Scrooge and his chains remained in shadow.
“Truly a soul in darkness.” The spirit pulled back his flame. “What is this man’s name?”
“Ebenezer Scrooge, spirit. He is, or was my only friend.”
The spirit glanced again at Marley’s chains. “It is hard for me to believe that either you or this Ebenezer Scrooge could form a lasting friendship.”
“Why would I lie to you?”
The spirit sighed. “I believe you. The damned have little reason to lie. What point would there be to it? Like you, I can see his chains. I suspect the fires below are at full blaze to make them.”
“Can he be saved? Can you help him?” Marley sighed.
“Nothing is impossible. Men’s good deeds can redeem past sins. But before you ask me for my help again, please, I must show you something.”
“Of course.”
The spirit extended his arm. “Then take my robe, Jacob Marley. We have much to witness before dawn breaks on Christmas Day.”
Marley took the spirit’s robe, and in a flash of light, the two appeared in a dark stone cellar. In the corner, a stove radiated much-needed heat into the room. On the floor, three men slept on straw mattresses.
“Where is this place?” Marley asked. “Are we out in the country?”
“We’ve traveled less than five minutes by foot. Above us is one of the finest homes in the city.”
“Then why are these men here?”
The sound of footfalls on the staircase answered Marley's question. It was the mistress of the house. Though of advanced aged, she carried a silver tray laden with stew, bread, and warm punch. The sleeping men stirred at the smell of food and drink.
"I'm sorry this is so late," the woman said as she ladled soup into bowls. One of the men helped her cut the bread. "Eat your fill, gentlemen. Ring the bell if you want more. The privy’s right upstairs.”
“Thank you, mum,” one of the men said, wiping his eyes before any tears could fall.
The woman nodded. “Tomorrow, after breakfast, we’ll see about getting you gentlemen some new clothes.” Picking up the empty tray, she ascended the steps. The spirit motioned for he and Marley to follow.
The house was a mansion, well-appointed and maintained. Soft candlelight flickered off rose-pink walls. There seemed to be no one else home. The woman did not take her rest in the parlor or bedroom, but in the kitchen, where her modest meal awaited her.
“Is she a widow?” Marley asked.
“The last fifteen years. Her husband was much like you, and I assume he shares your fate. But she, though having lived her entire life in comfort, is not like him. Since his death, every year on Christmas Eve she goes to the debtors’ prison and pays for the release of three men. She feeds them, clothes them, and helps them find honest work.”
“Truly a saint.”
“You could say that, Jacob Marley. And look.” The spirit brought his torch close to her body. “Not a single chain, and no sign that one was ever there.”
“It must be rare…someone like her.”
“Rarer than any treasure in creation. What waits for her, I do not know. I can only imagine that it will be a beautiful paradise.”
“An inspiring sight. But what does this have to do with my friend? It is like comparing fire and ice.”
“True. But I needed you to see this first – the pure soul. Let us discover what may happen to your friend if he should change his ways.” The spirit offered his robe once again, and Marley took it.
They appeared in an office much like Scrooge & Marley. Seated at the desk was an elderly man, much older than Scrooge, going about his business. Long chains bound him, yet his face did not wear a scowl. In fact, he looked much like the woman the spirit and Marley had just left.
“Look.” The spirit cast his light on the chains’ terminal links. There, some unseen force was rusting away the unholy iron.
Marley studied the man’s paperwork: large donations to charity, a lifetime’s worth of fortune signed away in a few strokes.
“A man just like you for much of his life. Here he sits in his final months.”
“What changed him?”
The spirit sighed. “His son’s passing ten Christmases ago. No other heir, he decided to give away what he had hoarded for so long.”
Marley nodded. “I knew many men like him. After the death of a loved one, they think of little else.”
“Is that why you never accepted love, or why you nurtured only a single friendship in life?”
Marley opened his mouth to reply, but decided not to speak.
“Yet, as you might have guessed, he will likely not live long enough to redeem his past fully."
“Then, he is damned as I am?”
“It is unknown. Men like you believe that morality is a banker’s ledger – that good deeds simply subtract from evil ones. In truth, the actions of every man reverberate throughout space and time. If after his death, the effects of good deeds preserver over the bad, he will be saved. If his bad deeds preserver…” The spirit trailed off.
“And if Scrooge was a man like this, how long would it take to know the fate of his soul?”
“For some, their final judgment will come only when the last man takes his last breath.”
Marley took the spirit’s robe one final time. Where they appeared painted a dark contrast to the spirit’s jolly countenance. The slums were among some of the worst Marley had ever encountered.
“We must finish here, Jacob Marley.” They walked into what served as the slum’s square. A trash fire provided dim light. The spirit turned his back to Marley.
Marley rubbed his hands together. “So, spirit, will you help my friend, show him that there is another path?”
The spirit turned and opened the bottom of his robe. There, two emaciated children clung to him for warmth.
The sight of the children caused the weight of Marley’s chains to increase tenfold. Their links dug into the earth, and Marley fell to his knees. Unimaginable suffering ripped through him.
“The girl’s name is Want. The boy’s name is Ignorance. I am sure you recognize them.”
“Yes,” Marley wheezed. “They are my children.”
“I will help you, Jacob Marley, but you must do something for me first.”
“What is it? Anything!”
“The boy has something to say to you. Listen to his words.”
"Yes! Of course, I will. What is it, boy? What do you have to tell me?”
The boy approached Marley. Marley’s agony increased with each one of the boy’s steps. The boy leaned close to Marley’s ear. His voice was the faint echo of a billion forsaken people.
“We have chains as well, Mr. Marley. Men like you put them there. Since the beginning of time, they have dragged us down. But we intend to lose them, cast them off forever. Men like you will wear the chains in life and death.”
The boy turned away and disappeared under the spirit's robe. The children hidden, Marley's chains returned to their normal weight. He could stand once again.
"The boy speaks the truth," the spirit said. “The doom Ignorance promises will come soon if humanity does not change its ways. If that happens, I fear that I will be among the last of my kind, and the light of Christmas will shine no more on this Earth.
“I will make sure that my brother who visits this world two Christmases hence helps your friend. I promise it.”
As his flame began to dim, the spirit gave Marley one final message. “Next year, at this same time, in this same place of despair, you will find the last of us. I fear he will try to dissuade you, show you scenes of the coming darkness, things only he can envision. Remember, what you will see are only shadows of what could be.
“Good luck, Jacob Marley.”
The Ghost of Christmas Present disappeared.