Chapter 5: A Christmas Carol
Chapter 5:
Luis wasn't surprised at all when he was awakened again. He was, however, a
little shocked to see that this spirit had taken on the form of his mother,
Pilar. It was unnerving seeing her dressed in flowing white, much as an angel
would be. "Christmas Present, right?" He said uncertainly.
"That's right Luis." The spirit said serenely. "This is good that you were
expecting me. It saves time... come along." She reached toward him...
They watched as another Luis stood among the children at the youth center. It
was a couple of days ago when the youth center threw the children's Christmas
party. Luis was laughing and smiling as the kids adoringly flocked around him.
"Those children really love you." The spirit commented.
Real Luis smiled. "Yeah, they're great kids." He liked seeing himself with
the children. He knew he would make a great father.
Then the party began to break up and the parents took the kids home, one by
one, until all that was left was Luis and a huge mess.
Luis noticed that his counterpart no longer looked happy and he knew that the
look on his face had nothing to do with the piles of paper cups and cookie
crumbs on the floor. He remembered exactly the thoughts he'd had that day.
The spirit was watching him as he watched himself clean up the gym. "What is
it Luis?"
"I'm just remembering what I was thinking about that day."
"Which would be?"
Luis glanced at the spirit. He suspected that she already knew exactly what
he was thinking, but for some reason she wanted to hear him say it. "I was
thinking about how life is slipping me by. Many of those kids have parents
younger than me... I felt like life was in limbo..." His voice trailed off as
he looked back at himself. The other Luis was picking up trash, his face
etched with longing and just a touch of pain.
The spirit nodded and took his arm...
Theresa and Pilar sat on Pilar's bed wrapping presents as Luis and the spirit
faded in. Luis glanced from his mother to the ghostly image beside him and
felt a strange feeling in his spine. How odd seeing his mother's form twice
in the same room.
"There!" Theresa proclaimed, placing the present she'd just bestowed with
fancy ribbon onto the middle of the bed. "My present for Luis. I hope he
likes it. I want to cheer him up... he seems so sad..."
Pilar nodded, finishing wrapping another box and passing it to her daughter
for the ribbon and bow. "He is lonely Theresita."
"Lonely? He has us." Theresa bubbled, brushing the idea off.
Pilar looked at Theresa. "Don't you ever think that Luis might want more out
of life? Like a family of his own?"
"Oh, that..." Theresa grinned. "You know he's sweet on Sheridan... even if he
won't admit it."
"Sheridan Crane is not an option for him, just as Ethan is not an option for
you. Forget that idea Theresa!" Pilar said firmly.
Luis looked at the spirit. "What was that about Theresa and Ethan?"
The spirit didn't look at him. "That is not important... pay attention Luis."
Pilar gave Theresa a weak little smile. "If only he would return Beth's
interest. She is such a nice girl. There was a time I was certain she and
Luis would marry."
"Maybe we can help that along." Theresa said. "But I still think he and
Sheridan..."
"No!" Pilar said firmly, cutting her off. "Forget about Sheridan. You want to
help Luis, remind him what a special woman Beth is."
Then Luis and the spirit were back in the living room and it was a time fresh
in his mind. There, gazing out the window was himself a few hours ago, after
the party had broken up. He remembered he'd been thinking about Sheridan.
Real Luis told the spirit what he'd been thinking about. Then he added, "But
it's not going to make any difference what I was thinking. Sheridan's not the
woman for me. You heard what you... I mean Mama, said just now. It can't work
with Sheridan and me... I mean the woman doesn't even like me."
"If you say so." The spirit replied benignly.
Then Luis was back in his room and the spirit was gone. He lay back on the
bed, knowing all too well that there would be another ghost. He'd seen the
movie. He knew how it worked.
The thing was, he wasn't sure he wanted to see what the next ghost would be
showing him.
To Be Continued...