Marley: Stave V
In Stave V, Marley experiences not one, but two miracles.
Marley
by Thomas Broderick
Stave V
The next twelve months were excurtiating for Marley. He watched Scrooge become not only weaker but more bitter by the day. Christmas Eve was the pinnacle of Marley’s torment. Scrooge’s proclamation to a local charity taker - “and decrease the surplus population” - nearly shredded the last of Marley’s hope.
That night, as the clock struck midnight, Marley mustered his strength. He would have only one chance to speak to Scrooge, one chance to convince the man to listen to the spirits that would arrive throughout the night.
Marley ascended the steps into Scrooge’s bedroom.
#
With his angished plea for Scrooge’s redemption finished, Marley sat on the stoop outside Scrooge’s front door. He hoped that he had made an impression, that his years of preparation would bear fruit. That would be up to the spirits, and ultimately Scrooge.
The night was long. From his perch, Marley could hear only Scrooge and the spirits’ whispers. Had he done enough? His mind tortured with the question.
The night turned to dawn. Marley stood up and paced the street in front of Scrooge's house. He held a fear that Scrooge would awaken as his old self. But he had to know. The thought consumed him so intently that he did not notice Scrooge appear at the bedroom window, nor the boy walking up the street.
“What’s to-day?” Scrooge yelled down to the boy. Marley’s head snapped up to look at his friend.
“Eh?” The boy asked, looking up at the strange sight of a man in his pajamas.
“What’s to-day, my fine fellow?”
“To-day!” replied the boy. “Why, Christmas Day.”
"It's Christmas Day! I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course, they can…"
Not believing his eyes, Marley ran up the stairs and into Scrooge’s bedroom. Windows thrown open, the room had taken on new life. In the center, Scrooge danced like a schoolboy in love as he dressed for the day.
An hour later, Scrooge strolled among the celebrating crowds, wishing everyone a good morning and a Merry Christmas.
Despite the apparent change, great worry still lingered in Marley's heart. Would the effects of the previous night be only temporary?
Marley’s question was answered when Scrooge approached the charity taker from the day before. Though Marley did not hear what Scrooge whispered into the gentleman’s ear, the man’s joyous reaction spoke volumes.
At that moment, Marley heard a strange noise like the banging one encounters at a blacksmith shop. Marley looked down. From one of Scrooge’s chains, a terminal link had snapped in half and now lay on the snowy ground. Not believing it, Marley bent down to pick up the pieces. The metal dissolved into fine rust before slipping through his fingers.
Marley’s work had not been in vain.
#
Over the next dozen years, Marley watched Scrooge shed his chains like a dog its winter fur. Marley took great joy in smashing the offending links and lockboxes before they vanished.
However, like all men, Scrooge’s time drew near.
In the days before his end, all that remained of Scrooge’s damnation was the lock over his heart. Yet even it had begun to rust away as Scrooge set about to settle his earthly affairs. His will set aside significant sums for the general welfare and the Cratchit family, who had prospered under Scrooge’s guidance.
Tiny Tim, now just Tim, had grown into a strong young man. Though he had done well for himself, his soul was free of chains. Along with Marley, he was at Scrooge’s deathbed. Scrooge’s bedroom was bright and airy. Outside the open windows was a beautiful spring morning.
“Are you comfortable, Mr. Scrooge?” Tim patted the hand of his second father.
Scrooge smiled. “Very, Tim. And thank you.”
Scrooge turned his head toward Marley. Marley thought nothing of it until Scrooge spoke his last. “Thank you, too, old friend.”
Ebenezer Scrooge’s final breath was not a painful gasp, but a sigh of relief. At that moment, the last bit of the lock dissolved above his heart. Upon witnessing the final miracle, Marley clasped his hands together and shut his eyes tight.
Though Marley’s chains remained forever latched to him, he felt their weight no longer. Scrooge’s redemption had lifted Marley’s soul to a Heaven of his own making.
And that is where he has remained ever since.