Act 2

Later that night, after his incident with Cheru, Marlon gotten ready for bed. He looked around his bedroom to see if any of the spirits his late partner mentioned by candlelight, but there was no sign of spirits showing up. Eventually he got irritated. "Bah! I don't have time for this." He goes to his bed to lay down, he blew out his candle, pulled the curtains on his bed, and went to sleep. Silence and darkness spread throughout the house, but just as things are starting to settle down, a bell from his clock was heard. Marlon jumped in his bed from the sound and looked around on his bed, confused, he quickly discovered that his candle has lit itself, he can see the fires through the curtains. "What the...? I thought I blew it out." He said to himself, so he sat up to blow it out.

When he did, he noticed something...off, the fire's silhouette behind the curtain began to move on its own. Flying from the nightstand to another part of the room, during that time it started to turn into a pretty turquoise color. When it stopped in front of the foot of Marlon's bed, it let out a burst of light which nearly blinded him, it also created a wind that blew the curtains away.

Soon the light began to die down slightly, giving Marlon the advantage to see the candle fire...but...it was no longer a candle, but a beautiful young girl with long turquoise hair tide into twin tails with white mistletoe berries, and holding a small shrub of red mistletoe berries, her attire mostly consists of a long dress with bell-shaped sleeves on her upper arm and skin tight sleeves on her forearms, over it is a sleeveless slip dress, and a belt to secure it. It seems like something a villager would wear, only clean, brand new, and colored entirely white and grey, except for her belt and slip on shoes, they're brown. And Marlon's not sure but there's a halo behind her head with a flame inside the ring, this and her attire makes her look like a candle, which makes sense since she came from a candle flame.

Marlon was baffled by her sudden appearance of this person, could she be one of the three spirits Cheru mentioned? There's one way to be sure, Marlon asked:

"Are you the spirit whose coming was foretold to me?" Marlon sheepishly asked.

"I am." She answered, her voice sounded like a song from a bird, the tone of her voice was enough to calm him down.

"Who and what are you?" He asked slightly more sternly, sitting up

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past." She curtsies.

"Long past?" He tilted his head.

"No, your past." She answered, now Marlon's even more confused.

"What does my past have to do with-"

"Trust me." She cuts him off as she walks over to his bedside. "Mr. Marly said it's for your own good, and the good of others around you."

"What good? It has little use for this world." Marlon sneered as he turned away.

"You don't always think that." She explained.

"Bah! Humbug." He scoffed. "I shouldn't have to listen to a child." As he least expected however, his head got smacked by the mistletoe she was holding. "OW!" He gripped his head.

"Listen Marlon, if man we're measured by kindness, you'd be no bigger than a speck of dust!" She scolded him.

"You don't have to hit me." He groaned in pain.

"Then you ought to do as I say, Mr. Marly said so." She walked towards the window in front of Marlon's bed to open it, a wind blew into the room.

"What are you doing, Spirit!?" He called out, covering himself with his blanket.

"We're gonna visit your past." She climbed onto the windowsill.

"Are you insane?!" He exclaimed to her in fear, he puts on his slippers before running towards her. "We could fall!"

"Don't worry, I'm a spirit so we won't fall." She turned toward him and extended her hand. Marlon was very hesitant about this, but he can't just turn away, so he did was he was told and took her hand. "Here we go!" She jumped forward and Marlon in hand.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He closes his eyes as he screamed, thinking that he's going to fall to his doom...But death never came, instead when he opened his eyes, he sees builds going by under him. He looks to see that he and the Spirit are flying in the night air above the city. "Heh...heh heh...HA HA HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He started laughing hysterically over being alive. "I can't believe it, we're flying!"

"Told you." The Spirit said as she smiles.

"Where are we going anyways?" Marlon asks.

"You'll see." She replied, they flew over to the center of the city, in their site was a large building. "Here we are."

"That building...Is that...?"

"This is the Boarding School you went to, right?" She asks as they're landing at the doorway, she lets go of his hand upon landing.

"Yes, my father...he uhhh...sent me here when I was young." Marlon said uncomfortably, the Spirit opens the doors, finding a bunch of students inside of the place, leaving the building while giving their "Merry Christmases" to each other. Both Marlon and the Spirit walked inside.

"Your relationship with your father wasn't good back then." She said. "He sent you here because he expects things from you but all it did is make you feel lonely."

"Indeed, especially during Christmas." They walked upstairs to another floor, then walked down the many rooms lined up until they reached their destination: a empty classroom with only one student left, a lonely boy with short blue hair that seems to match his eyes. "That boy sitting by himself...that's me."

"Correct, that was before you became a miserable miser consumed by greed." The Spirit said, poking him.

"Well nobody's perfect." He shrugged, the Spirit only rolled her eyes while shaking her head over his response. "While everyone went home, I was stuck here during this Christmas."

"Ebenezer!" They heard a voice in the hallway, they turned around to see a small young girl walking down the hall, she has short green hair with matching eyes and wearing a long grey dress.

"That little girl, that's my little sister, Nem." Marlon said, his face warmed up upon seeing her.

"She was the symbol of your happiness in your youth, you two used to be so close." The Spirit explained.

"Ebenezer!" Nem called out again, walking through Marlon's body, she was just an illusion. "There you are!" The younger boy perked up.

"Nem? What are you doing here?" The young Marlon asks.

"I'm here to take you home, this time for good." She said, smiling.

"Really? But what about-"

"Don't worry about Father, he's much kinder now and has asked me to bring you home to become a man and never return to the schoolroom."

"Th-that's great! Thank you sister!" The young boy was ecstatic, he got out of his desk to hug her.

"Oi! Master Marlon." Someone with a booming voice entered the room, passing through Marlon and the Spirit. It was the Schoolmaster. "I just receive word about it, and I thought it would be nice to offer you cake and wine as a last gesture to you." He said, holding a box with cake inside and a bottle of wine.

"Th-thanks, Mr." Nem said while taking the bottle while the young Marlon took the cake.

"Goodbye sir." The boy said as they walked away.

"Goodbye, Master Marlon, good luck on your future, and have a very Merry Christmas." The Schoolmaster waved to him.

"Yes, I remember how close I used to be with her." Marlon said, feeling nostalgic of the whole thing.

"But of course, but soon you two grew distant." She said, looking quite disappointed with him. That made Marlon looking sad as well. "It wasn't until the day of her death that you lost her." Everything around them started to alter from a classroom into what looks like to be a house. Marlon looked around in confusion until it hit him.

"This...is my Sister's home." He said, Marlon perked his head when he heard baby crying in the next room, the door opens, revealing a Doctor. He looked very sadden, wiping the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.

"I am sorry gentlemen, I may have delivered your son, but they're just somethings that can't be saved." He says in a somber tone before walking away. Both the Spirit and Marlon looked inside to find another Marlon, this time he's older. He was on his knees by Nem's bedside, mourning over death alongside her husband holding a crying baby, she died giving birth to her son and his nephew; Ayn. The current Marlon was struck with grief upon reliving this scene once more.

"Despite being distant, still cared for her, and her death really infected you badly." The Spirit said, wiping the tears from her eyes as well.

"Why do we have to visit here? I don't want to relive this painful memory." He said in a depressed voice.

"I know it's hard to view this, but this serves as a gateway to the way you treated your Nephew." She points at the other Ebenezer, while he was still crying, he glared at his young Nephew. "The whole reason you keep discouraging your Nephew was because you blamed him for something that no one, not even Ayn or your Sister can control. You disrespected her by treating him like a nuisance." She told him off in a stern voice, almost angry. Marlon only stood there in shock from what he heard, he looked at the crying baby.

"I took my anger out on my Sister's child because of something that couldn't be prevented...my god, you're right, I should've have treated him better." He said in regret, having realized of what he has done.

"What about the others? Like Keel and...Annebelle?" She asked, Marlon perked up.

"Annebelle?" He asked in surprise.

"Yeah, from when you worked at the Tea Company years ago." The Atmosphere changed again, turning from a house into a warehouse, "After leaving that boarding school, you've spent the next 8 years working for this place as your employer's apprentice, you were 18 during this time." Marlon looked around the room filled with boxes of tea, and sitting on a stool and checking off a list was a woman long pink hair and wearing a red-violet dress.

"That woman...My god, that's Mrs. Fezziworker!" He suddenly became excited, his eyes were filled with stars. "I could never have worked for an eccentric and caring woman."

"If I recall correctly she was your first employer, right?" The Spirit asked.

"Yes, she also acted as a mother-figure to me." They then noticed her putting things away.

"Dick! Ebenezer!" Fezziworker called out. "I need you two for a second." Two young men should up from the next room, one of them was Ebenezer at the age of 18.

"You wanted us, Ma'am?" Another man asked, it must be the man called Dick.

"Today is Christmas Eve, thereby I'm planning on closing the shop early in celebration of it." She explained. "So I want you to clear everything for tonight's celebration, now get a move on lads!" She clapped her hands twice.

"Yes, Ma'am." A young Marlon responded, he and Dick went to make preparations. Quickly the Atmosphere changed, it was still the same warehouse except it was dark outside and filled with decorations and guests, music was also playing and couples are dancing around. The warehouse became a ballroom. In it's center was Fezziworker and her husband, dancing to a joyful melody being played by the fiddler and his band.

"She was the life of the party at the Tea Co." Marlon said.

"I can tell, they effect everyone around them, including you and that woman." She points at the young Marlon happily dancing with a woman with long blond hair tied into a ponytail and wearing a yellow dress. "She's Annebelle, right?" The Spirit asked, Marlon sees her and blushes.

"Yes, she's the lovely Annebelle." He swoons, reminiscing the days they were together. "I remember how much I was in love with her."

"Yes, you were." The Spirit said, sounding displeased for some reason as the atmosphere started to change around them. "But 10 years later since that Christmas Eve, you learned to love something else." Marlon was confused, he looked around to see where they are now, realizing the the room was familiar, he works there.

"I-It's my counting house." He exclaimed, their attention was then caught when they heard weeping, Annebelle was in front of Marlon's desk which was line up to her head in gold coins.

"Don't you see what I'm trying to tell you, Ebenezer?" She said, wiping her eyes. "You hoped to be above poverty but all it has done is take over your other ambitions. We were young, poor, and content when we got engaged...But I understand if you don't want to be with me, I'm just grateful to know about your true feelings...that's why I came to tell you that the engagement is off" The 28 year old Marlon, who was sitting behind his tower of gold coins sat there quietly, eyes were cold and filled with greed and apathy.

"I don't remember asking for a release, Annebelle." The young Marlon said, looking disinterested.

"I know, it was your changed nature that has asked me to release you...without saying a thing I might add." She turns away, now in the verge of crying, the older Marlon watched in horror and guilt, was he this cruel to Annebelle? The Spirit looked at him in disappointment, disgusted with the way he treated her.

"You love your gold more than that beautiful creature, and thanks to that, you lost her forever." The Spirit scolded him. Annebelle stopped at the doorway.

"Goodbye, Ebenezer, I wish your new self the best of luck in the life of profit you have chosen." She said on the verge of weeping, then walked out.

"Oh god...what have I done?" Marlon said quietly, covering his face with hands. "I drove the love of my life away, and now I don't even know where she went."

"It's not too late." The Spirit said as the atmosphere changed again, turning from a counting house into a living area.

"I don't recognize this place." Marlon said.

"That's because this is her home." She answered, Marlon's eyes popped wide. "And there she is." She pointed at the couch, and sitting there was Annebelle, she was knitting a piece of tapestry.

"Wha...!?" He exclaimed, he tired to walk to her, but then the door opened, revealing a fine young man with long blond hair tied into a pony tail.

"I'm home." He said, he was holding a bunch of presents.

"Welcome home!" Annebelle said, smiling, she seemed rather happy being with him, just then two little children came running into the room, going through Marlon's legs, they both seem to be twins and they resemble their parents.

"Father's home!" A young boy exclaimed.

"Welcome back, father." A young girl said, hugging him.

"Merry Christmas, children." The Father said, giving the twins presents.

"Yaaaay!" They both jumped with joy as they're given presents. "Thank you, father!" Witnessing this, Marlon was surprised by the site before him.

"She's...so happy." Marlon said quietly.

"But of course, she found someone with purity in their hearts, unlike you, who gave it up for greed." The Spirit explained.

"I see...I wonder if she still remembers me?"

"Good question, I was just about to show you that." The Spirit said, fast forwarding time to nighttime were the children are asleep. Both Annebelle and her new husband are sitting in the living room, snuggling against each other.

"Annebelle, I just remembered something that happened today." The husband said. "I think I just ran into a friend of yours today." Upon hearing that, the woman started to look said.

"I see...was it Mr. Marlon?" She asked in a melancholic tone.

"I believe so, he has blue hair."

"That's him."

"Alright, well I hate to say this, but I kinda feel bad for him."

"How so?"

"Well, he seemed quite alone in the world, like he had no one to turned to, especially since I've heard his sister recently passed away."

"So I've heard, even after all this time he'd been collecting money, he'd still have some humility left."

"Indeed, there's even a couple of people out there calling him "The Lonely Man"." Quite surprising after all the things he did to drive people away, including his former love, they still pitted him. Tears started to flow from his eyes.

"Even after you drove her away, she still has the heart to treat you with kindness...you should consider yourself lucky, for most people like you don't get this kind of forgiveness." The Spirit explained.

"...I shouldn't be lucky, Spirit." Marlon said in a sad tone. "I don't even deserve her forgiveness...please end this memory...end all of it...I don't to see anymore...take me home." He voice was trembling in regret and sorrow as he was wiping the tears from his eyes.

"...I understand, Marlon. My time is up anyways." She said as she stepped back from crying miser, while doing so, the atmosphere started to become dark and blurry. "Just remember this: You fashioned these memories on your own..." The fire shaped halo on her head started to fade like a candle, eloping them both in darkness.

End of Act 2