Uncle Ben was an irritable man who only thought about himself. He didn’t care if his niece needed his help, or did any kind of favors for anyone for that matter. He was a successful businessman though who owned a chain of sporting goods stores. And because he was rich, he made sure that the state prison was kept up.
Christmas Eve morning Sarah went to her uncle Ben’s home to invite him to her Christmas festivities. When she rang the doorbell, her uncle’s assistant Mr. Collins answered the door.
“Merry Christmas Mr. Collins. Is my uncle around?”
“Merry Christmas Sarah. Yes, he’s in his office.”
Sarah was festively dressed in red and white from her head to her toes as she walked into his office, “good morning uncle Ben.”
“Good morning? What is so good about it? And what are you supposed to be a human-size candy cane?” Uncle Ben grumbled.
“Come on uncle, it’s Christmas time and I’m here to invite you over to my house for Christmas,” Sarah sat on the edge of his desk.
“Christmas, bah. It’s a waste of time and money,” Ben grumbled again.
“Well, I’m inviting you anyway. I hope to see you, tomorrow uncle,” Sarah hopped off the desk and twirled out of her uncle’s office. “Have a Merry Christmas, Mr. Collins.”
“You as well Sarah, Merry Christmas.”
Sarah left her uncle’s home and went on with her Christmas shopping. Mr. Collins sat down on a chair in Ben’s office and worked on the pages of figures that he was given. Uncle Ben stared at his computer screen and tried to figure out ways to pinch more pennies.
“We should be able to save more money if we cut out raises next year,” Ben said.
“But sir, your employees deserve a yearly raise for all they do,” Mr. Collins said.
“Bah, for all they do? All they do is whine,” Ben looked over the computer monitor.
Mr. Collins lowered his head and went back to the figures on his papers. He knew that Ben wouldn’t listen to him anyways. So the rest of the day, they continued to work while everyone else in town was making merry and preparing for their Christmas parties.
When six pm rolled around, Ben peeked over the computer monitor, “I suppose you want to leave and make merry with all those other fools?”
“It is six o’clock sir,” Mr. Collins looked at Ben.
“Well, don’t make too merry so that you won’t be able to come in early the day after Christmas,” Ben stood up.
“I won’t sir,” Mr. Collins got up. “And here are the pages I got finished so far, sir.”
Ben took the few pages from him and slapped them down on the desk. Mr. Collins then grabbed his coat and put it on. Before he left uncle Ben's office though he wished him a Merry Christmas.
“Christmas, Bah,” Ben said.
Mr. Collins went on his merry way and looked forward to spending time with his family. His family can’t afford much but he tries to make Christmas as joyful as possible. Uncle Ben spent another couple of hours crunching numbers in his office until his rumbling stomach couldn’t wait any longer. He shut his computer down and then went into the kitchen.
As he looked into his refrigerator, he grabbed the box of Chinese fried rice that he had a couple of nights ago. He dumped it on a plate that he had sitting in the sink strainer and then put it in the microwave. When the microwave dinged, Ben heard some rattling of what sounded like chains coming from the living room. Being cautious, he peeked around the refrigerator.
“Who’s there?”
Ben took a couple of steps into the living room and saw a ghostly figure wearing chains and hovering near the fireplace, “who are you?”
The ghostly figure slowly turned around with the chains jingling. With his eyes that seemed to be missing, he looked at Ben, “Don’t you recognize me, Ben? I was your business partner.”
“Cooper?” Ben paused. “But you’re dead.”
“I know that but I’m here to warn you.”
“Warn me? Warn me of what?”
Cooper growled and went on to tell Ben that if he doesn’t change his way of thinking and be kind to others, his life after death will be as horrible as his. He also told Ben to expect a visit from three ghosts starting at midnight tonight.
“These ghosts will show you some things that aren’t pleasant but it’s for your own good,” Cooper said.
“But our business is doing so well this way,” Ben said.
“No!” Cooper yelled. “You must listen or you will end up like me.”
Thunder rumbled and lights flickered as Cooper glided up to Ben, “change your ways!”
Before Ben could say another word, Cooper floated across the floor and through the front door. Ben rushed over to the door and opened it, but Cooper was gone. Ben glanced around outside but didn’t see anyone.
“Maybe I was dreaming?” Ben went back inside and closed the door.
He went back into the kitchen and reheated his dinner in the microwave. When it was warm again, he took it into the family room. He sat down on the sofa and turned on the television to watch the news. When he finished his meal, he leaned his head back on a pillow and dosed off for a while. Once the midnight hour hit, Ben was startled awake by his doorbell ringing twelve times.
“What, what is going on?” Ben looked around and then hurried to the front door.
As he slowly opened the door, a bright glowing white figure floated inside. Ben quickly backed up and watched it. The figure turned around and told him in a soft-spoken voice that he was the ghost of Christmas past.
“Christmas past? Well, for a ghost you don’t seem very intimidating,” Ben said.
Just like that the ghost floated towards him and grabbed his arm.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Ben asked as he felt his body lift off the floor.
The ghost pulled Ben along as they floated up the stairs, through the wall, and out of the house. Ben found himself flying high above his town as the Ghost pointed to a young woman walking on the college campus sidewalk. The ghost flew them down for a closer look when Ben saw a younger version of himself now arguing with the woman.
“Hey, that’s me and Samantha… She broke up with me right there,” Ben said.
The ghost guided Ben down to the ground so they could hear Samantha as she told the young Ben that all he thinks about is money. The young Ben reminded her that if she wants nice things then it takes money. Samantha told him that her need for his love was more important and ran inside the school crying.
Ben looked at the ghost, “well, it’s true, it does take money to have nice things.”
“She only wanted your love,” the ghost looked at Ben.
Before Ben could say anything else, the ghost grabbed onto his arm and flew up in the air. This time the ghost of Christmas past took Ben to his younger brother's house. They slowly descended to the ground by a bay window and looked inside.
“Hey that’s Jacob and Sarah when she was about five years old, I think,” Ben said.
“Don’t you remember, this was when they could have used your help?” The ghost said.
“Oh… This was when Jacob needed a kidney transplant, isn’t it?”
“Yes, and you kept putting off your decision to give him one.”
“Well, he was on a list. I didn’t have to give him one of mine,” Ben watched as a nurse helped his brother back into bed.
“He might have been here longer for Sarah if you weren’t so selfish,” the ghost said.
Ben was feeling pretty sad now as the ghost grabbed onto his arm again.
“Where are we going now? I want to go home.”
The ghost lifted Ben high in the sky and flew him back toward his house. Before Ben could say anything, the ghost dropped him. Ben screamed and hollered as he plummeted toward the ground, only to wake up on his own sofa.
Ben glanced around, “oh, I’m home… Was I dreaming all of that?”
“No, you weren’t,” a large, round, and colorfully dressed man walked in from the kitchen holding an apple.
Ben turned around and looked, “who are you?”
“Well I’m the ghost of Christmas present,” the ghost bit into the apple.
“Do we have to do this now? That last ghost wore me out,” Ben slouched down on the sofa.
As Ben sat on the sofa, with a flick of his hand, the ghost raised the sofa up. The room’s lighting started to change and the sofa started to spin. Ben hung on tight so that he wouldn’t fall off as he saw his family room change into someone’s hospital room. The ghost of Christmas present slowed the spinning sofa down and lowered it to the floor. Ben looked at who he saw in the room and recognized his assistant Bob Collins.
“That’s my assistant. Where are we?” Ben sat up.
“This is Mr. Collins and his family. Every night they visit their sick daughter in the hospital for a while.”
“I didn’t know that he had a sick kid. Actually, I didn’t even know that he had four kids. He rarely says anything about them,” Ben said.
“He asked you once if he could leave early to be with his daughter when she had her first surgery, but you said no,” the ghost reminded him.
Ben thought for a moment and a feeling of guilt rushed over him, “oh yes, she has leukemia doesn’t she?”
“Yes, and she needs another surgery but Mr. Collins is almost out of money,” the ghost said.
“I guess I can help them, but there is no guarantee is there?”
“No, but at least she could have the second surgery done,” the ghost raised the sofa again.
With a flick of his fingers, the ghost spun the sofa which made Ben grab on tight. The room now changed into the living room at his niece Sarah’s house. She and her husband had some friends over for Christmas. There was a lot of conversation and plenty of laughter as they celebrated the holiday. Even her uncle’s name came up in the conversation.
“I know that most of you feel that he doesn’t deserve my love, but look at what I made for my uncle Ben,” Sarah held up a painting of him with her.
A tear formed in Ben’s eye as he looked at the painting, “I haven’t been a very good uncle to her… There is still time right?”
“I’m just showing you how it is right now,” the ghost said.
Ben smiled and observed her happiness until the ghost lifted the sofa again. Ben held on tight as the sofa spun and spun with no stopping in sight. The changing scenery went to a bright light and Ben felt like he and the sofa were falling.
“Stop. I want to stop now,” he yelled out.
Then suddenly, he was in his own family room again and no ghost was in sight. Ben got up and looked in his kitchen, and then peeked into his living room but found no one. He walked up to his refrigerator and took out a beer. I guess I could make some changes in my life, he thought as he twisted the cap off the bottle. Ben chugged the beer down, shut the TV and light off in the family room, and went upstairs to his bedroom.
Ben turned the light on in his bedroom and was startled by the sight of a seven-foot dark-colored figure dressed all in black.
“You must be the third ghost that I was to expect?”
With a very deep voice, the Ghost said, “I am the ghost of the near future. Come with me and you will see.”
The Ghost pointed out Ben’s bedroom window.
“No, I can’t fly,” Ben backed away.
Suddenly Ben found himself in the air and outside of his house. The ghost flew him over to his assistant's house so that he could see Mr. Collins and his family hugging and crying in their living room.
“What happened? Wait, where is his other daughter? Ben looked around. “No… She died didn’t she?”
The Ghost pointed his dark boney finger at a beautiful blue urn that Mrs. Collins was clutching.
“She did die. But this is only the possible future, right? She might have a better chance if I help her right?”
Just like that, the two of them were flying high in the air again. Over his town where everyone else seemed to be having a good time singing and laughing. The ghost to Ben to the outskirts of town where the atmosphere changed. The sky turned a cloudy grey as they flew into the town cemetery.
“Why are we here? You already showed me that Bob’s daughter died.” Ben looked at the ghost.
They gently landed near a grave marker that was alone and about twenty feet away from all the others. Ben looked around wondering what they were doing there. The ghost then pointed at the grave marker in front of them. Ben looked at the snow-covered marker and walked up to brush some of the snow off.
His eyes widened as he saw his own name and the year of his death on the stone, “no! I’m not ready to die yet. I can change this right? I can change everything, right?” Ben looked at the ghost.
“This is indeed only the possible future,” the ghost replied.
Ben stared at the grave marker and said, “I will change. I will help others and be kind.”
When Ben turned around to face the ghost, he was gone. A brightly lit tree stood in his place. Ben looked up at all the glowing white lights hanging on the tree and took it as a sign that he can change the future. That everything will be brighter not just for him, but everyone else too. The lights mesmerized him so much that it seemed like everything around him was now glowing. Ben blinked his eyes a few times and found himself lying down. Ben blinked again, glanced around, and saw that he was in his bedroom.
“I’m home. I’m alive. I’m alive!” Ben yelled.
He glanced over at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was 7 am. He got up and grabbed his cell phone and looked at it.
“December 25th… It’s Christmas. I didn’t miss it,” Ben smiled. “I’ve got a lot to do.”
The first thing Ben did was take a shower. Then he got on his computer and went to his business website. He typed up a letter and addressed it to all of his employees stating that they will each be getting a dollar raise come January. He then wrote up a couple of checks for a thousand dollars each that he would drop off while he was out. One was going to a local food pantry, and the other to the children’s group home. Ben was also going to buy a large ham with all the fixings and take it over to his assistant's home.
Ben had such a joyful feeling deep inside his heart now that he wanted to spread all kinds of cheer. He sang Christmas songs the whole time while he did his shopping and the people who knew uncle Ben were stunned. That couldn’t be this was the same irritable and grumpy man they were used to seeing. Ben even bought a bunch of dog and cat food and dropped it off at the animal shelter. That Christmas day, Ben was the talk of the town again, but in a good way.
When Ben went over to the Collins family home, they were surprised to see him. Bob was hesitant but invited his boss inside. Ben presented them with the ham meal and asked Bob if he could help his family out. Ben insisted on paying for their daughter's medical expenses and also gave Bob a raise. The Collins family was so grateful that they invited Ben to stay for Christmas. But Ben told them that family is important and that he was invited to his niece’s home for Christmas. Mr. Collins's children hugged Ben before he left and called him uncle. That warmed Ben’s heart up even more.
At Sarah’s home, she was just taking the turkey out of the oven. Ben walked up to the door holding a bottle of wine and rang the doorbell. Sarah’s husband answered the door and was shocked to see Ben.
“Merry Christmas John. May I come in for Christmas?” Ben asked.
John held the door open, “Yes, please come in Uncle Ben.”
Uncle Ben walked inside and followed John into the kitchen.
“Merry Christmas Sarah,” Ben looked at her dressed all in red and green.
“Merry Christmas Uncle Ben. It’s so good that you came,” Sarah hugged him.
This was the first Christmas in many many years that Ben celebrated. It was such a joy to him that from then on he tried to celebrate every major holiday with Sarah and her family. As for Mr. Collin's daughter, with Ben’s help, she had two more surgeries and became a cancer survivor. And his sporting goods stores continued to thrive with the help of happier employees.
Let us remember that spreading joy can be done any time of the year. Merry Christmas Everyone.