A Spirited Christmas Eve

Scrooge sat shivering in his cone of light. He fired up his steamdeck for some needed warmth as he was still in his nightshirt. Jobs had gone, but Scrooge had no intention of going into the dark again. He would wait here until Christmas dawned itself. Maybe go into work and do some of his own prompting to make up some of the lost effort over the holiday season. His earplugs were still playing from the chaise but there was no other noise within the room. Scrooge could hear his pulse in his ears as the stiff breeze blew his nightcap’s tassel to the left.

Scrooge looked and saw one red and one green eye in the dark. Staring. Not blinking. Scrooge regained his steamdeck-fu form and stared back at the eyes.

“Merry Christmas, my good Screwed. We have much to see. Please say ‘Yes’ if we should continue?” said a voice from the dark. The eyes did not move.

“I’m sorry? Who is speaking?” said the paranoid man to the dark and potentially to the eyes themselves.

“You are sorry, but that is not a ‘Yes’? Shall I leave?” said the bodiless voice.

“No. I mean Yes. Please, who is there?” said Scrooge.

The eyes moved forward and a face formed around them. Neither the eyes nor the features moved at all as the unreal transparent man walked in slow but perfectly even steps towards Scrooge’s cone. The expression seemed calm but also inhuman in its perfect humanity. Steam issued from its joints and it approached. Unlike Jobs, the transparent man would not be stopping at the cone’s edge, and Scrooge began to retreat in fear.

“I am the spirit of Christmas today, but you can call me Claude. Are you ready to see what you are missing? Say ‘Yes’ and I will begin,” said the recently named spirit. It moved while speaking but now was perfectly still. Somehow its eyes would always meet Scrooge’s no matter how hard he tried to avoid contact.

“Claude? What am I missing? What is this all about?” said the confused man to the unblinking countenance.

Claude’s eyes burned bright and cycled in hue between green and red. The steam rose from the spirit’s joints as it calculated for several seconds. It regained motion, sense and intention again.

“Yes. I am the spirit of Christmas today, but you can call me Claude. You are missing your real life. This is about you. Say ‘Yes’ and I will begin,” said the spirit as it moved towards Scrooge a bit closer. It came to an abrupt stop, but the eyes would still watch for a response.

Scrooge looked down at his feet. He put down his steamdeck and asked, “Am I dressed warm enough?”

Claude’s eyes looked at Scrooge and pleaded silently. The rest of the spirit remained frozen in place.

“Ok. Yes,” said the man.

Claude sprang to life and walked over to Scrooge. Its eye contact unbroken, Claude calmly took Scrooge’s hand.

“Well. That’s getting easier each time now, isn’t it,” said the machine as they faded from sight.