A Millennium Christmas Carol

[Guest Blueboy]

The Millennium Christmas Carol

Our cast: Mailman

The Old Man

Lara Means

Peter Watts

Catherine Black

Jordan Black

Frank Black

Our story opens on one late Christmas Eve... Apartment door opens, Frank Black enters. The room is dark, and when he attempts to turn on the lights, nothing happens. All the electricity is apparently off, so he lights a solitary candle on the coffee table, slumps into an old couch, and drinks some coffee still hot from the pot, the smoke rising and seeming to curl around him as Frank closes his eyes. Abruptly, there is a loud knocking on the door, and Frank stumbles to open it, surprised when the mailman hands him a envelope.

"Sorry to bother you...er (looking at the address on the package) Mr. Black. This was delivered to the wrong house and was returned. Thought I might drop it off on my way home, you know, thought it might be something important. Merry Christmas." Frank, apparently distraught, accepts the package, wrapped in brown paper. "Yeah. Thanks. Same to you" The mailman waits for a moment, apparently wanting a tip, but Frank simply closes the door. There is no return address on the package, and Frank, tired and worn, simply tosses it on the table, where the candle suddenly sputters, the flame rising into a solitary pinacle of light. Frank watches the flame, the light reflected in his eyes... --------------- Catherine and Frank with Jordan stand on the front porch of the yellow house. "It's our new home...You like it?" he asks. "Oh Frank, its wonderful..but yellow?" Catherine replies "I had it repainted,it was dull gray before. It needed some life. The yellow paint helps, but its you and Jordan that will bring it to real life." "It's beautiful Frank. Can we afford it?" "I have work now, my consulting is finally paying off, with a good salary...benefits too...Yeah, I think we can." "Yay Daddy! Let's go inside." Frank opens the door and Jordan scampers inside. Frank grins. "What?", Catherine asks. "It's just...it's like a second honeymoon. May I?" She laughs "Oh, if you must." Frank scoops Catherine up and into his arms and he carries her over the threshold. Inside the doorway, she kisses him, wrapping her arms tighter around him. "Don't drop me now. I'm not seventeen anymore you know." "Yeah", he fakes a grimace. "I noticed." They laugh together. "Mommie, Mommie, come see, I can have my own room now!"---------- "Frank! Frank! Wake up!" "What?", he mumbles, recognizing the Old Man. "What are you doing here?" "Just a blast from the past, son. Making the season bright you know." Frank shakes his head. "Yeah, right." "Now see Frank, that's your problem. You only see the evil around us, and never realize the good you have done."

"Good? All I have done is destroyed everything and everyone I ever loved." "Frank thats nonsense, and you know it. Think back, to all the people you helped, to all the crimes you solved, that brought closure if not peace to so many." "Yeah, right. What's it worth when everything is gone, turned to dust, like turning off an old television show and staring at the dark screen." "Frank...think man, think.."-------- Peter Watts sits at his desk in his home holding a old crucifix. "Now this is an important relic from the old Catholic Church. An icon that was worshiped almost, reminding people that some things remain important, even more important than life and death. After all, no matter if the group succeeds or not, energy is never lost, but goes on, and can influence others by mere inspiration. Perhaps it fires imagination or dreams, encourages faith or a belief in our ultimate salvation. Frank, the things we do, the ripples from the actions we take, live on long after we leave this mortal plane. That's my belief anyway, but you're free to disagree of course. The group does not insist on your following some obscure dogma, just that you use your gift, the best that you can, to aid mankind. We are all shepherds, you know that." Frank (his head held between his hands, downcast) replies: "If I could only relive it, redo it. Did i make the right choices? Does anyone really care? Jordan's grown, off for some ski trip with friends from MSU. I'm alone Peter..all alone." (Lara Means enters from a side room, smoking a cigarette) "You are not alone Frank. Even when we think so, those who loved us, who Love us, who we think lost, are only a prayer and a dream away."-------------------- Frank, startled to awareness, hears carolers working slowly up his street. From the apartment window he sees them below, singing in the swirling light snow that has begun to fall. "Must have been dreaming", he reasons. "All that Millennium group stuff. Rotted my brain. Glad I'm retired now from all of it. All of them."

The carolers outside sing "Silent Night". The candle on the table has long gone out, a puddle of cold wax sliding under the package that he had tossed on the table earlier. Sighing, he opens the package. Inside is a photograph, framed in gold and decorated with small cherubs around its gilded edges. Frank, Catherine and Jordan, smiling, standing on the porch, watching as the first snow of the season fell.

The phone suddenly rings "Yeah, hello." "Dad? Dad its me, Jordan. I cancelled out of the trip, I'm coming home. Pick me up at the airport at ten. I want to spend Christmas with you. It seems like the right thing to do, you know? I love you dad, I want to be with you, now, especially now, at this time of the year, you know?" Tears well in Frank's eyes. "Yeah baby, I know. I'll pick you up." "Great! See you then." Frank places the phone down on the table. Outside the snow covers the streets with a blanket of white softness. Frank has been hardened by the world, by the choices hes made, some which he regrets, some he does not. But in that moment he realizes, what we should all realize, that life is nothing but pain unless we recognize the love that we have, that we need, everyday, just not today, on this most sacred day of the year." "Damn", he says to no one, "I better clean this place up."------ And someplace above, standing and watching, the Old Man, Lara lift glasses as Peter offers a toast. "To those left behind, who continue to work, to ensure that peace is not a figment of the imagination, that love is real, and that the real work of the Millenium group goes on, with new players, who will find in it a reason to celebrate, and endure, no matter the odds against them" "Here, here", Lara replies happily. "I'll drink to that", says the Old Man, and they clink heavenly glasses, while carolers, down below, sing: "The first Noel, the angels did say

was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay

in fields where they lay, keeping their sheep

On a cold winter's night, that was so deep.. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the king of Israel They looked up and saw a star

Shining in the East beyond them far

And to the earth it gave a great light

And continues this forever, both day and night Noel, Noel, Noel Noel Love borne in the heart,

The greatest gift, for all"--------------- .AOLWebSuite .AOLPicturesFullSizeLink { height: 1px; width: 1px; overflow: hidden; } .AOLWebSuite a {color:blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer} .AOLWebSuite a.hsSig {cursor: default}

[model217]

Well done.I'm certainly feeling the Christmas spirit now.

[ethsnafu]

Congratulations, that was a wonderful read. A perfect seasonal story to put me in the mood for Christmas and what's more I am going to print that off for next year. Even though we don't have new Millennium it's nice to see folk keeping the flame burning in some way. In the absence of a new Millennium Christmas story the above will do quite nicely, a Merry Christmas to you.

If you have read this and enjoyed it please follow me and give the man a reputation point. Simply Click the green plus sign at the top right hand corner of his original post and your are bestowing a little gift of your own, free of charge ;)

To all a good night!

Eth

[The Old Man]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing your story! Its one of my favourites and I have to watch them every Christmas, but there's nothing like a Millennium twist - god knows, every other franchise out there has done there own take!

Have a well earned rep point!