A Christmas Carol Aftermath: Tim
Less than a fortnight after Ebenezer Scrooge passed into the next world, Emily Cratchit fell ill. She had not been well for months, but now she could barely leave her bed. The doctor said there was nothing that could be done but pray for a miracle.
Threatened with the impending loss of his mother on the heels of the death of his dear friend, Tim Cratchit — now a fine young man, hale and healthy (save a slight limp he would forever walk with) — began to slip into despair. He spent less time at home, throwing himself into work (he was a ’prentice at the firm now run by his father and Fred). He was brief with his wife, cold to his son, and snapped at Fred when he gently suggested he take some time off to process his grief.
Ebenezer was distraught. He remembered far too well how the death of his sister had shaped his own life, and he saw echoes of his past regrets in Tim’s behaviour. One day, he voiced an idea that had been growing in his mind to Jacob.
Jacob sighed as if he had been expecting the question, and hadn’t looked forward to it. “Ebenezer…” he said carefully, with a gentleness anyone who had known him in life would not have recognized in him, “what happened that night was… not typical. It took years of pleading your case, of effort on Fan’s part and mine, and even then, if you hadn’t had such a large part to play in so many lives…”
“You’re the one who said…” Ebenezer frowned, trying to remember, “‘anyone working kindly in his little sphere will find his mortal life too short for his vast means of usefulness,’ isn’t that right?”
Jacob sighed again. “It is. But Ebenezer…”
“I don’t mean we’d need to visit Tim’s past and future, I just want to give him an assurance that… that death is not the end, that I am still watching over him, that—” but he stopped there, because Jacob was shaking his head forcefully. “Well, why not?” Ebenezer challenged.
“Because…” Jacob thought a long time, weighing his words, “…because it doesn’t work that way, Eb.”
Jacob huffed. “If help were so forthcoming every time a soul was in distress, don’t you think someone would have come to my aid? For that matter, why should you have grown old without intervention, if it were that easy? Don’t you think if Fan could have come to see you, she would, and saved you years of bitterness, saved the world around you years of the cruelty born of your grief?” Jacob heard the harshness in his own words and checked himself.
Ebenezer looked down at his hands, chastened. “I… you are right, of course. I just… I don’t see why.”
Jacob’s eyes softened, and he gave a small, sad smile. “Nor do I, honestly. But one thing I do know is that Tim will be fine.”
“Ebenezer, when you were a young man, you didn’t have anyone to turn to, save myself, and lord knows I was a poor enough example.” Jacob gave a remorseful half-smile. “The lessons your father imparted were those of cruelty and fear, and those I gave you were of power and greed, and of taking from the less fortunate. But Tim… he has his father, his brothers and sisters, his wife and child, and the lessons you gave him growing up. He is surrounded by love, and examples of a different sort of power: the power of kindness, of charity, and of Hope. You taught him well; now you need to have faith in that, and in him. Do you truly believe he needs the sort of intervention that you’re suggesting?”
It was Ebenezer’s turn to sigh. “…No. No, I know him better than that. I just… I miss him, I suppose.” Jacob laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “And… well, I miss being useful. During the last years of my life, I discovered that not only did I have a responsibility to others, but the joy of fulfilling it. And now… I’m happy, don’t mistake me! I cherish the time I spend with you, with Fan, and getting to know my mother at last. But… Jacob, I cannot express how wonderful it felt to make a difference, for the better! Can this really be all there is to being a spirit? Just watching, from a distance, unable to affect the lives of mortals?” He looked up to see Jacob beaming at him. “…What?”
“I’d been hoping you might say something like that. No, that is not all there is to being a spirit. There is so much work yet to be done, and I would be grateful to have my partner’s aid.”
“What do you mean?” Ebenezer asked, mystified but excited.
Jacob held out his hand. “Would you do me the honour of coming with me to see?”
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