Another Christmas Story
by: Sandra
It was the evening of the 23.December.It started to snow in
the morning and the land was tucked in a beautiful white blanket. Ben Richmond entered his
house right after his wife Claire. She was crying and after she put the bags in the
kitchen she ran up and locked the bedroom behind her. Ben walked in the living room and
over to the bar and got himself a glass of Jack Daniel’s and sat in his favorite
chair right in front of the television.
Ben zapped through the channels when his son Robert came down.
Robert stood in the doorway and asked, "Why is Mommy crying?"
Ben turned around to him and said, "Because of you and your stupid letter to Santa
Claus. How can you wish for a doll? Are you gay?"
Robert saw that the eyes of his Dad showed only hate for him. He started to cry and turned
to the stairs.
His Dad yelled after him, "Run you sissy. Run like the girls and hide."
Ben heard a wild knocking upstairs and he heard the door to his bedroom open and close.
He turned back to the television and emptied his glass. He mumbled to his self, "What
have I done that I deserve such a son."
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He said, "Claire. No way. I won’t buy
that doll for that sissy."
There was silence for some seconds then went the television black. Ben took the remote and
tried to switch it on again. Then he froze in his movement. He heard a voice he well knew
and he thought, "That can not be."
"Benjamin Francis Richmond."
Ben turned slowly around and saw the image of his mother. His heart raced and he stumbled,
"Mom? That .. that can’t be. You are dead. Since .. Since years."
"Yes, I am dead. And I come back to warn you, Benjamin. Don’t make the same
mistake that I did. Love your child and do your best for your child."
"I do my best and .."
A voice like thunder made him shut his mouth, "Benjamin! Don’t lie to your
mother! Three ghosts will come to you this night and they will teach you to treat your
child right. And you’d better listen to them or else .."
The image of Ben’s mother came straight on in his direction and he blacked out.
Ben woke up, the glass still in his hand, and the television was running. A breath of
relief came out of him and he thought, "That was a weird dream. Better that I get
another drink and go to bed."
He shut off the television and went over to the bar and filled the glass till near the
top. He stood there and sipped on the glass and a cold shiver run down his spine. He shook
his head to get rid off this thought when he heard noises from the kitchen. He emptied the
glass and went into the kitchen.
"Claire, I had a really bad dream and .." He froze in his movements. There was a
person in the kitchen he didn’t know. It was an old woman who searched though the
bags. He turned around and headed to the phone. He was pulled back by an iron grip on his
arm.
"Little Benjamin. Where do you want to go? You want to order the doll, I hope. I
can’t find her in the bags."
"Who . Who are you?"
The old woman giggled like a schoolgirl and said, "I am the spirit of Christmas past
and I am here to show you what a nasty jerk you are."
She took his hand in hers and he saw fog coming up from the ground. He felt like the whole
world is spinning round and he closed his eyes.
"Open your eyes, Benjamin. We are here."
"Where are we?"
The old woman giggled, "You wanted to ask when."
She waved with her hand and the fog disappeared.
He was in his son’s room. Well, it looked like the room six years ago. He saw Robert
playing with his cousins Jill and Jennifer. They played house and Ben saw how happy Robert
was. He held a doll in his arms and then in came Claire . She had a big smile on her face
and Ben listened as she said, "Come with me, Beverly. I have something for you so you
can look as pretty as the other mommy’s."
The old woman waved with her hand and Ben saw only fog again.
She asked him, "Did you remember this day?"
"No. I never saw Robert playing like that."
"Seems like you need more." The old woman said and waved with her hand.
Ben found himself in his bedroom. He saw Claire as she helped Robert to undress. She
picked up pink panties and gave them to Robert.
He went forward and wanted to pull the panties out of Robert’s hands but he felt
nothing and ran through his son as he didn’t exist.
The old woman laughed and said, "You can see them and hear them but they can’t
hear or see you."
Ben was very angry and he yelled into Claire’s face, "How can you make my son
dress like a sissy."
Claire went through him and helped Robert into a pretty dress.
Suddenly Ben froze and his eyes got wide. "I remember that dress." He looked at
the old woman and said, "How can you do this to me. I need so much to forget what I
did that day."
"You need ?" the woman said angry and waved with her hand, "Did you ever
thought about what it was like for Beverly?"
She waved again and Ben could see himself coming into the house.
"You devil. Bring me away from here. I tried to forget this evening."
The old woman said with a sad voice, "Look close, Benjamin."
Ben looked as he went into the kitchen and found Robert in the dress. He yelled at him and
then he started to rip the dress off his son. He looked as he started to beat his
6-year-old son. Then he saw Claire coming in and as she fought for her child. He watched
as his fist hit Robert so hard that his nose broke. And then he watched as he hit his wife
Claire so hard that she went down and lay lifeless on the floor. He watched also as he
went out of the house and left the two helpless bodies back in the kitchen.
The upcoming fog let him turn to the old woman, his hands balled to fists. He saw her
waving hand and found himself in a hospital room.
He saw his son Robert lying there and Claire beside him. He listened as Robert said,
"It wasn’t Daddy’s fault, Mommy. He loves me and I love him."
Claire said, "We will go away, Beverly. This is the only way I can protect you,
darling."
"I don’t want to go away, Mommy. I love Daddy so much."
Ben looked as the two started to cry and hugged each other.
He saw the upcoming fog again and then the world got black again.
He woke up in his chair. He felt the tears run down his cheeks and shook his head. He
thought, "I ate too much tonight. Why else have I such stupid dreams."
"That was no dream, Benjamin. The spirit of the Christmas past visited you." an
Angel like voice said.
Ben stopped breathing as he felt a hand pulling on his hair. He was pulled up on his feet
and turned around. Benjamin looked at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"Who .. are you?"
"I am the spirit of the Christmas present and I am here to show you what you did
today."
She closed her small hand around his arm and Ben felt the iron like grip in disbelief. The
young woman pulled him with ease upstairs and went right in front of him through the door
to his bedroom. He yelled as he went through that door too.
He saw Claire holding a crying and trembling body in her arms. Ben remembered what he had
seen before and felt very bad now.
He said, "I am so sorry." and run to the two to hug them. Again he went through
the two and couldn’t stop before the wall and went straight through it. He fell down
onto the deep snow in the garden.
He laid there crying and then he heard the giggling of a little girl in front of him.
"Little Benjamin is stupid. Little Benjamin is stupid."
"What are you .."
The little girl slapped his face and said, "will you be quiet! You brought so much
pain into your family."
Ben looked in fear now and asked, "Are you the .."
"Spirit of the Christmas future? Yes, I am." she giggled, "It is funny that
they all have so much fear when I come." she made a curtsey and asked innocently,
"Aren’t I a pretty little girl?"
"Yes. I don’t know why I feel fear."
The girl again slapped his face hard and she asked, "Did I give you my permission to
speak?"
"No."
Again she slapped his face and he fell back on the ground.
The little girl laughed, "Feels uncomfortable to be hit, doesn’t it?"
Ben nodded his head and the little girl giggled, "Seems like there is something I
must show you. I can still feel that you are a bad boy inside."
She took Ben by his arm and waved her hand. Again Ben found himself in a wall of fog.
When the fog disappeared he was in a graveyard and the little girl pointed to a grave.
"Go there and look what your cold soul has brought you."
Ben couldn’t move and asked, "Who is in that grave?"
The little girl pushed him and yelled, "Go and look for yourself."
Ben went slowly to the grave and knelt down with closed eyes. He thought, "It is my
grave. I’m lying in there!"
He opened his eyes and started to read the stone.
| Beverly 03.February 1988 – 25.December 2000 (born as Robert) A crying mother brought her Angel here to give her the peace she never had in her life. The hate of her father took her away from her mother’s heart |
Ben broke out in tears. He turned around to the little girl
and asked, "Is there nothing I can do?"
The girl said with a smile on her face, "Listen to your heart and love your child.
The future you see will happen if you don’t change. You are the only one who can
change all this."
With that the little girl waved her hand and Ben blacked out again.
Ben woke up in his chair and started to cry. He felt a soft
hand on his shoulder and jumped in fear.
He heard his son asking, "Why are you and Mommy crying, Daddy?"
Ben’s heart missed a beat and he looked up and took his child in his arms.
"Mommy cries because I was a stupid idiot. I hurt her and you, Beverly."
Beverly looked surprised and whispered, "You called me Beverly."
"Isn’t it your name, daughter?"
Beverly’s eyes got wet and she embraced her dad and said through happy sobs, "I
love you Daddy."
Ben pressed Beverly tight to him and both cried for a long time. When Ben looked up he saw
his mother in front of him smiling.
He said, "Thank you, Mom. I love you." and saw his mother waving her hand and
then she disappeared.
Ben held the trembling body tight to him and stood up. He went upstairs to his bedroom and
knocked at the door.
He said, "Claire. Your daughter is here with me and we must go to the mall. I have
forgotten to get her presents. Can you help me please to search for the prettiest things
for Beverly? She needs a complete wardrobe to start her life on Christmas."
Claire opened the door and Ben gave Beverly in her arms and hugged both. They all had
tears in their eyes, happy tears.
© 2000 by Sandra
The above work is copyrighted material. Anyone wishing to copy, archive, or re-post his
story must contact the author for permission