...flashing lights from the decorations scattered around the area in a chaotic yet organised manner. It is so bright that you are tempted to grab your sunglasses and put them on but then you realise that that is a bad idea since not only is it night time, but you never bothered to bring it with you, since you thought you weren’t going to need it. What a fool you were. Then again, you didn’t really expect to go outside and be festive on Christmas day, did you? You opted to cover your eyes with your hand as you gradually try to adjust to the blinding Christmas lights instead. Your other senses immediately get assaulted by the loud shrieking of children, the booming voices of carollers, the aromatic mixture of food and drink, and the frosty chill of snow gliding over your skin and surrounding you.
After making up with a love that can never be chased anymore and expressing your joy and love to your sister’s son, you’d have thought that your life was complete then and there. However, it was not, you found out. To add to the joyous occasion, you and your assistant made amends for all the insensitive actions you’ve done and you met and became friends with his son.
Past you would’ve mocked this holiday and the people who even dare to celebrate it. If someone were to tell you that you were going to go outside in the snow, your sister’s gift scarf around your neck, in order to not only see people but to also organise a full-on feast for the entire area to attend, along with your festive nephew, you would’ve said something insensitive, capitalistic and overall rude. Then again, that did kind of happen, didn’t it?
Right now, though, you weren’t in the mood to question your actions and what had just transpired with the ghosts and your dead partner. Right now, you wanted to celebrate Christmas, like everyone else. For the first time in, well, however long it has been, you socialise with people: old and young, rich or poor. Unlike before, you did not put on a frightening facade and a strict barrier that separated you from everyone in the living world. All the residents seemed quite surprised about this sudden change of personality, but did you care? Not really. It seemed that they were quite happy about the recent change though, so that was good.
However, like all good things, it must come to an end. No good thing comes without its consequences. The world flickers. You open your eyes, and somehow you’re back in the weird spiritual plane where you communicate with the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, along with your deceased partner whose soul is forever trapped in the land of the living. ‘No,’ you think, ‘not again, please...’
You try to speak, but no sound comes out. Your eyes well up with tears. You had been lying down. Does that mean that everything that you had just witnessed is a lie? What about your lost love? Your nephew? Hell, your assistant- his child?! If it was all just an illusion and nothing has changed, they’d all be miserable and.. blood will forever be on your hands.
You look up towards the four ghosts surrounding you as you get up. You know what you need to say, what you need to do.
Your past you is no more. It’s time to change.
It’s time to be human.
Note 1: WOW THIS IS LONG OOPS i wrote this at like 2:33 am so that's probably why ngl.
Note 2: If it wasn't obvious, tbf I omitted names from this so fair, this is entirely based on A Christmas Carol. My year watched the live broadcast for it from The Old Vic starring that one zombie series actor. Probably Walking Dead but I don't remember.
Note 3: About the sunglasses, I wanted to do a kinda modern take on A Christmas Carol but that is really not obvious, is it haha.
Note 4: Yeah, this is indeed Scrooge's POV. However, I wanted a gender neutral thing to this so yeah.