The Wexford Carol by Chris Caswell & Friends
The tall grandfather clock in the room had been silent since the hour before, but as its hands reach their one o’clock position, it bellows a single loud chime.
A brilliant light shines into the once dark bedchamber of Ebenezer Scrooge. Mioko can be seen in the back of the room, and he smiles expectantly towards the window. Within the curtains of his bed, Scrooge winces and groans as he wakes from his brief sleep. He sits up, blinking from a light so intense that even through the curtains it seemed like the brightest sunlight.
MIOKO
The curtains of his bed were drawn aside; and Scrooge, starting up into a half-recumbent attitude, found himself face to face with the unearthly visitor who drew them.
To Scrooge’s surprise, a small wisp of a spirit hovers before him. Bathed in the light, she appears childlike and wise of her years all at once. She wears a dress of purest white that shimmers with a lustrous sheen. The fabric flows and pulses with her movements as if in slow motion, and it tapers and fades away where her feet would have been. Her long brown hair is held back with a sprig of fresh, green holly—a green that matched her vibrant eyes. Her hands hold Scrooge’s small candle, the flame even more brilliant than before.
SCROOGE
Are you the first spirit—the spirit that Vance told me about?
ATHENA / GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST
I am!
SCROOGE
Who—what are you called?
ATHENA
I am the Ghost of Christmas Past!
SCROOGE
Long past?
ATHENA
Your past!
Scrooge blinks a few times, sitting up.
SCROOGE
...My past? Why?
ATHENA
For your welfare!
SCROOGE
Welfare?
ATHENA
Will you continue to be my echo?
Scrooge frowns as the spirit giggles.
ATHENA
Come—rise, and walk with me!
The ghost takes Scrooge’s hand and leads him to the window. As if on cue, the window opens wide to her. She starts to pull him further, but Scrooge pulls back in fear.
SCROOGE
Spirit, I’m not sure I can jump out of the window at this height!
ATHENA
Bear but a touch of my hand...
The ghost touches Scrooge’s chest, just over his heart. At once, a lightness fills him, and a moment later, he finds himself outside, far above the streets of Fortanya. The spirit holds out the candle in an outstretched hand, and, with her other arm around Scrooge’s arm, they start to fly through the air. Her gown flows and curls in the wind as she guides Scrooge to a brilliant light on the horizon.
Scrooge squints as he is engulfed by the light and feels a burst of warmth. The light dims to the brightness and chill of a winter morning and, as soon as his eyes adjust, he sees fields and farmhouses covered in a peaceful blanket of snow. He cannot believe his eyes.
SCROOGE
Oh my goodness! I—I was born here! I was a boy here!!
The spirit draws near to the ground, and Scrooge’s slippered feet touch the snowy road gently. He pulls his robe tighter to ward off the cold, but his mind is quickly distracted by much more. He gazes back and forth as a horse-drawn carriage passes him and young children run happily from a one-room schoolhouse down the road.
Mioko stands near the schoolhouse, smiling, as Scrooge stands bewildered beside the spirit.
MIOKO
Scrooge was conscious of a thousand odors floating in the air; each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares long, long, forgotten.
ATHENA
Your lip is trembling... and what is that on your cheek?
Scrooge wipes his cheek hesitantly as the spirit smiles at him.
SCROOGE
Nothing—this is nothing...
But as Scrooge begins to walk forward, he is once again engulfed in the memories of his past. He follows the road to the schoolhouse, passing children as they run happily in the opposite direction.
ATHENA
You know the way?
SCROOGE
Are you kidding? I could walk it blindfolded... Look—up there! My word, that’s Remi! He was my best friend in school! Remi!
But the tawny-haired boy runs right past him, happily singing Christmas carols as he meets up with two other boys along the road. Scrooge tries to call out to him again.
ATHENA
These are but the shadows of things that have been. They cannot hear or see us.
SCROOGE
They can’t?
ATHENA
Come. There is something you should see.
SCROOGE
What, an empty schoolhouse? All of the children are outside heading home for their merry little family Christmases...
The spirit recognizes his defensive sarcasm and floats closer to him.
ATHENA
The school is not quite deserted. A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still...
Scrooge swallows, knowing well to whom she is referring. He can only softly repeat her.
SCROOGE
Solitary?
She takes his hand again and guides him to the schoolhouse. When they enter the room, Scrooge gazes at the rows of empty desks until his eyes fall upon one boy.
SCROOGE
...Can it be?
There, in a desk all alone, is an older boy with dark hair. He is dressed in a blue coat with a scarf tied about his neck and a book firmly in his hands. The echoes of the other children laughing and singing fade to silence. Only the turn of a page and a small sigh could be heard in the room.
But then, footsteps come from behind Scrooge. He and the spirit turn around as a much younger boy with thick-rimmed glasses appears in the doorway. His bright blue eyes glimmer in the light as he smiles and rushes into the room.
CHILD VANCE
Brother!!
Young Steven turns his head, surprise widening his hazel eyes.
CHILD STEVEN
Vanny? What are you doing here?
CHILD VANCE
I’m here to take you home! I don’t want you to spend another Christmas all alone!
CHILD STEVEN
How on earth did you come here by yourself? Don’t tell me you’ve already learned how to drive a carriage...
The young boy giggles and shakes his head as Steven nudges his brother playfully.
CHILD VANCE
Father sent me in a carriage with a driver! He wants you to come home—and he even found a place for you to apprentice in town! He says you will be a great businessman one day, Steven! But first, you are to spend Christmas with us!
The excited young boy practically dances with excitement as he pulls on the Steven’s hand.
CHILD STEVEN
All right, all right! I will come with you!
With childlike eagerness and innocence, Vance takes hold of his brother’s hand and happily races out the door with him, leaving only an open book behind.
SCROOGE
My dear brother... I have nearly forgotten these moments...
ATHENA
He passed away seven years ago, did he not?
SCROOGE
Yes.
ATHENA
But he left behind more than moments: a child of his own.
SCROOGE
A son.
ATHENA
Your nephew, Amadeus?
SCROOGE
Yes...
His mind is too cluttered with thoughts to think of asking how the spirit knew his nephew’s name. But the light of the ghost’s candle becomes so brilliant that the room fades from view. Scrooge is shaken from his dreams and blinks to find himself outside of a large warehouse. A great sound emerges from the open doors, and many people are hurrying down the snowy roads towards them.
ATHENA
Do you know this place?
SCROOGE
Of course! I apprenticed here! This is Thorne’s warehouse—this is his Christmas party!
Scrooge does not wait for the spirit to speak again as he steps into the warehouse with wide eyes. Mioko is seen standing beside the door as other party guests enter to the sound of cheerful music playing.
MIOKO
In they all came, one after another; some shyly, some boldly, some gracefully, some awkwardly, some pushing, some pulling; in they all came, anyhow and everyhow. The Thorne’s annual Christmas party was a party not to be missed.
As he and the two visitors look on, everyone in the room breaks into dancing and singing and all are filled with great joy. The ghost notices Scrooge’s lightened expression, and she crosses her arms as she smirks.
ATHENA
This party must have cost a fortune... thrown away for the temporary happiness of others...
Offended, Scrooge turns to her sharply.
SCROOGE
It wasn’t thrown away! It was...
Scrooge pauses, stunned as he recognizes his own words from the spirit’s mouth. He shakes his head and looks forward, just as the host, Benjamin Thorne, passes by. The kindly boss stops, running his fingers along his thick bearded chin with a smile.
BENJAMIN
Edwards!
Scrooge shrinks back in shock, but then notices that Benjamin had been talking to the tall young man behind him—himself.
BENJAMIN
Edwards! Come on out of the shadows and dance!
TEENAGED STEVEN
I... don’t dance...
BENJAMIN
Oh, come now; you only need a partner! Ah—here! Miss Dawn, come over, please!
SCROOGE
Dawn...
His eyes wide, the elder Scrooge watches as a young woman with short, black hair steps up to his younger self. She is clad in a long, blue, layered dress accented with darker blue gems. Her warm face is lit with a caring smile.
BENJAMIN
Steven, this is Dawn Aquilla, the daughter of a longtime friend of the Thornes. Dawn, this is my apprentice, Steven Edwards. I believe you are both lacking a dance partner!
Steven takes Dawn’s hand and, bowing, kisses the back of her glove.
TEENAGED DAWN
It is a pleasure, Mister Edwards.
TEENAGED STEVEN
...A pleasure indeed, Miss Aquilla.
The scene begins to fade, leaving only the young Steven and Dawn standing together, with Dawn’s hands lightly resting in Steven’s grasp.
The elder Scrooge grows uneasy, especially when he notices the solemn expression on the spirit’s face.
SCROOGE
Spirit, please... show me no more...
ATHENA
I must.
The scene shifts only slightly. The young couple is now a few years older. Dawn stands with her back to the young Steven as they stand outside of an empty counting house in Fortanya’s town square. In the shop window hangs a “For Sale” sign, though it is partially obscured by the reflection of Steven’s dark cloak on the glass. Dawn wears a long blue coat fastened at her waist and black gloves on her hands.
SCROOGE
No... no, not this...
The light from the spirit’s candle shines on a tear as it slides down Dawn’s cheek. She turns towards Steven, frowning, as the young man stands completely motionless before her.
DAWN
Another Christmas, and we are still not married...
STEVEN
Dawn, I’ve told you... we don’t have enough money to be married. I won’t have our lives thrown into disrepair without a proper savings account—
DAWN
But when will that be? When will you ever have enough?
STEVEN
What do you mean? With each passing year, rates are only increasing, so we have to gather more—
DAWN
No! We have more than enough for a simple wedding. More than enough to purchase a home together—more than enough to raise a family—
STEVEN
Oh, we’re nowhere close to that—
DAWN
Then, I can no longer compete against your fear!
STEVEN
Fear??
DAWN
You fear loss so greatly you have forgotten how to live—how to love.
STEVEN
But, Dawn, I love you!
Dawn shrinks from his attempted grasp.
DAWN
...You did once. All those years ago when we were both poor, you loved me. But now you have a new idol... your money.
Both young and old men hang their heads, though the elder Scrooge grimaces much more painfully.
DAWN
You only love your money; you care only for your own gain. You keep it to yourself, and what used to be love has become greed.
She takes a step back as the young Steven looks down at his feet.
DAWN
Goodbye, Steven, or—dare I call you—Scrooge... May you be happy in the life you have chosen.
The spirit and the elder Scrooge watch as Dawn slowly turns and walks away. Scrooge begins to tremble again, biting his lip as Dawn slips from sight. He turns abruptly to the spirit in defensive anger.
SCROOGE
See? See why I’ve become so bitter about Christmas? My heart grew cold when I lost her that day!
ATHENA
With all due respect, I believe it had already grown cold.
Scrooge heaves a few breaths in preparation to retort, but every word catches in his throat. He resorts to grunting, shaking his head, and turning away with a disappointed grimace. He waves his arm blindly behind his back.
SCROOGE
Make this go away! Do you enjoy torturing me like this??
ATHENA
I told you: these are shadows of the things that have been... They are what they are; do not blame me.
SCROOGE
Then take me home! I don’t want to see any more...
The spirit nods silently. Her candle’s light shimmers and glows for one last time, and when its light recedes, Scrooge finds himself standing on the cold floor of his bedchamber. He turns to the spirit with sorrow in his eyes.
ATHENA
Remember what you have seen. It will be useful to you.
Tired and worn, Scrooge scarcely nods as he turns away, lying back against his bed. The spirit smiles lightly and blows out the flame on the candle. She is gone moments later, leaving Scrooge alone in a weary slumber.