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Chapter 4 The Spirit of Christmas Future

Scrooge thinks he is alone, but suddenly a tall ghost appears from the dark. He is wearing

a black cloak with a hood. The hood covers his head and hides his face, too. Only one

of the hands of the ghost is visible to Scrooge. This ghost looks very scary. He does not speak

or move. He does not look kind or friendly like the first two spirits. Scrooge is frightened,

but he tries to speak. Are you the spirit of the future? The spirit does not answer and just

points with its hand the direction they must go. Scrooge's legs begin to shake with fear.

Ghost of the future, he says in a loud voice this time. I am afraid of you, but I will come with

you. I want to see my future. Speak to me, please. The spirit again says nothing. Suddenly Scrooge

finds himself in the city center. There are rich merchants in the street. Scrooge knows most of

these men. The spirit stops beside a group of merchants and points to them with his visible

hand. Scrooge goes near the group and listens to the men's conversation. They are talking about

a funeral. They are rich businessmen like Scrooge and Scrooge knows their names. I am not going

to his funeral. I don't feel sorry for his death, says one of the men. Nobody is sad and few people

are going to his funeral. Another man says. Scrooge does not understand who is dead. He wonders about it.

Then the spirit makes Scrooge move on. They walk past Scrooge's office. Scrooge wants to go inside,

but it is closed. Scrooge thinks it is closed because it is Christmas day. This time, the spirit

takes Scrooge to a poor and dirty part of London. Scrooge never goes there because only thieves and

other bad men live there. It is a dangerous place. They enter an old smelly, dirty house. In one of

a dirty bundle. The woman opens the bundle and takes out pieces of clothing and silver knives

and forks. She is showing them to the three men. Scrooge recognizes the woman and he is in shock.

That's my maid. She cleans my house and washes my clothes. But look.

She is selling my clothes and silver things to those men. She is a thief, he says angrily.

The woman also takes bed curtains and some bed clothes out of her bundle. I am selling these two.

He doesn't need them anymore. She says to the three men and begins to laugh.

Are they talking about me? Scrooge says. He is terrified. He runs out of the house shouting,

I don't want to die this way. I must change. Then he finds himself in a dark bedroom.

There is a bed with no curtains around it. The spirit makes Scrooge pull back the bed clothes

and look at the dead man in it. But Scrooge cannot do this. He is very scared. He says to himself,

poor man, he is dead, but there is no one around his bed. He is a lonely man, like me.

This place is scary. I am leaving. Show me another house.

I want to see people with some feelings for this dead man.

So the spirit spreads out his cloak like a wing. From under it, a room with a sad woman in it appears.

She is waiting for her husband. Then the husband arrives.

Do you have good news or bad news? She asks him.

Bad, because the old man is dead. But this is good news for us. We don't owe him any money now.

We don't have to pay anything. Answers the husband.

Scrooge feels bad again because the couple is happy about the old man's death.

I want to forget this bad scene. Show me another house with sad people crying for a loved person's

death. He tells the ghost. And the spirit takes Scrooge to Bob Cratchitt's house.

Mrs. Cratchitt and the children are sitting around the fireplace. They are all very quiet and sad.

Even the noisy boys are sitting quietly. The mother and the girls are sowing clothes for

tiny Tim's funeral. Then Bob arrives home. He is coming from the church. He looks very sad and

tired. He tells the family that everything is ready for the funeral on Sunday. He adds,

Scrooge's nephew Fred is a very kind man. He is very sad about Tiny Tim. He wants to help us

with the funeral. Then he goes upstairs to Tiny Tim's room. He kneels down by the boy's empty bed.

He looks at his crutch and begins to cry.

Oh, Tiny Tim is dead. I don't want to believe this. Scrooge says to the spirit,

with tears in his eyes. The spirit is very quiet again and takes Scrooge away from the Cratchitt's home.

After leaving the Cratchitt's home, Scrooge and the ghost travel to a different time in the future.

Scrooge is still wondering about the dead man in the bed. The spirit takes him to another part of the city.

On the way, they pass by Scrooge's counting house.

Can we go to my office? I want to see it, says Scrooge. As an answer, the spirit points to another

direction. But Scrooge walks to the window of the office and looks inside. It is his own office,

but the furniture is not his. It is different. And a man is sitting at his desk.

Scrooge does not know this man. The spirit takes him away quickly.

They arrive at a graveyard now. They pass through an iron gate,

and the spirit stands among the graves. He points down to one of them. It is covered with bushes and

weed. Scrooge does not look down at the stone on the grave immediately. He asks the spirit a few

questions first. Spirit, tell me, you are showing me scenes from the future,

but will they definitely happen? Is there any chance? Can these scenes change?

The spirit gives no answer and continues to point down to the grave stone.

Oh, I understand you. I can change my future, says Scrooge. Then these things will not happen to me.

Afterwards, he kneels down and reads the name on the grave stone. The name is Ebenezer Scrooge.

His hands tremble in fear and worry, and he kneels down and cries.

Oh, no, no! Spirit, am I the dead man in bed?

As an answer, the spirit points down to the name on the grave stone, and then to Scrooge again.

Scrooge is in panic now. So there is no chance for me? Are you trying to tell this?

Do I have no hope? He cries. He stops crying and catches the spirit's hand.

I am learning my lesson. Spirit, I really am. I will be kind and helpful to the other people.

I promise. He says to the spirit. The spirit's hand is shaking now. Scrooge continues to beg him.

I will respect Christmas. I will live in the past, the present, and the future. I won't forget

the lessons of the three spirits. The spirit removes his hand from Scrooge's hand. Suddenly,

his cloak begins to change its shape. It gets smaller and smaller, and it becomes a bed.