An Orphan Carol.
(Apologies to Charles Dickens.)
An 'Orphan Black' version of Charles Dickens' classic story ' A Christmas Carol'. With Rachel cast as Ebenezer Scrooge and the rest of the gang make an appearance too!
Rachel Duncan lay sleeping in her big, wide, comfortable bed. Outside her apartment the snow lay thick on the ground. Rachel however was cosy and warm. It was Christmas Eve and even though Rachel had been invited to share Christmas Eve dinner with her sister clones; she had refused their offer.
Humbug! She called it.
Rachel's sleep became restless as the night drew on. About midnight the windows were blown open by a howling wind which made the drapes flap like a flag in a gale.
Rachel woke with a start. Sitting on the end of her bed was a human figure. It was a man and as he turned around she recognised his face.
"Aldous? How did you get in here?" As the sleep left her eyes she realised she could see right through him.
"Aldous, what has happened to you?"
"Rachel my dear, I am no longer of this earth. I have come to warn you that you will be visited this night by three spirits."
"Three spirits? Why?"
"It is not my place to tell you, but you should consider their words very carefully." And with that he got up from the bed and walked through the wall.
Rachel blinked and rubbed her eyes, she thought. "Did I dream that or was it real?" Putting it down as a weird dream she rolled over and went back to sleep.
At one o'clock the windows flew open again and a fierce wind filled the room. Rachel sat bolt upright in bed and noticed a strange apparition in the room.
"Who are you?" she asked "What are you doing here."
"I am the Ghost of Christmas past" it said. "I have come to take you on a journey."
"The hell you are! I'm calling security."
The 'Ghost' disappeared as Rachel reached for the phone, only to reappear when she hung up.
"Come, before the night is over." The Ghost held out its hand and Rachel reluctantly took it.
Rachel was clad only in her night attire, yet she didn't feel the cold. As they passed through her bedroom wall they were 'transported' back to Rachel's youth. The Ghost pointed out her 'parents' Ethan and Susan Duncan. She smiled, remembering the good times they had, the Ghost showed her the birthdays and Christmases they spent together and a small tear rolled down her cheek.
Then the scene changed, a few years had passed, Rachel was now 8 years old, very upset and crying into her pillow. Her new guardian Dr. Aldous Leekie was trying to console her but the tragic death of her parents in the laboratory fire was too much for the young girl to bear.
Rachel turned to the ghost and pleaded with it to show her no more. The Ghost waved its arm and she was back in her bed, then the windows slammed shut.
At two o'clock the windows flew open in the same fashion they had done earlier. She knew what to expect this time and waited for the 'Ghost of Christmas Present' to arrive.
Rachel became annoyed at the tardiness of the ghost. She walked to the window, closed it, and was about to go back to sleep again when the Ghost appeared. This Ghost looked different to the first one. However it wasted no time whisking her away to what looked like a scruffy old building converted into lofts.
Seated round the table were all her clone sisters and a few others she didn't know. The table had a huge spread of wonderful foodstuffs and everyone wore paper hats. Laughter filled the room and Felix stood up and said "I propose a toast to dear old Rachel who didn't want to be with us tonight." He was howled down by booing and hissing. "Felix I hope you're being sarcastic." Sarah commented.
Seated at the end of the table, Cosima had her oxygen bottle close by her side; she tried to put on a brave face as the worsening coughs shook her body.
"Spirit, will Cosima die?"
"I see an empty chair come next Christmas." It said.
Rachel gasped in shock! "Oh no spirit, say it isn't so." The Ghost waved its arm and again Rachel found herself in her bed. While trying to gather her thoughts of what she had seen so far, time had passed quickly without her noticing and on the stroke of three, as had happened twice before, the windows flew open and an apparition appeared before her.
"I know who you are Spirit. You are the ghost of Christmas yet to come." The Ghost said nothing, it merely pointed, its bony arm wrapped in the flimsiest cloth and though she looked where it was pointing she could see nothing but the wall. As the bedroom slipped from her vision she found herself standing on the street outside her building. Police cars and Ambulances were parked nearby; she could hear the voices of the Policemen talking to each other. "Good riddance to her I say" the first cop remarked "Now Harry, don't speak ill of the dead" his partner rebuked him.
"Spirit, why do you show me this?" she asked. The spirit again said nothing but merely pointed towards a group of people making their way up the street. "I know them, what are they doing here?" she said.
The ghost put its finger to its 'lips' as if to tell her to be quiet and listen. The first one spoke.
"Well, who'd have thought this would happen so soon." "Yes, couldn't have happened to a nicer person." The second one replied sarcastically. The third one said "Good riddance to her!"
Unsure what this was all about; she turned to ask the ghost when it whisked her away to the loft she had visited the year before. Sitting around the table were her clone sisters, they weren't as happy and jovial this year as they were the last. A place was laid at the end of the table and an empty chair stood unoccupied. Against the wall lay an oxygen tank. The door to the loft opened and Sarah walked in brushing the snow off her shoulders.
"It's really coming down now!" she said to the group seated at the table. "I placed her favourite flowers in the vase; don't know how long they'll last though in this weather."
"It's the thought that counts Sestra." Helena replied. "Come, have something to eat."
"No thanks Helena, I'm not hungry." Sarah replied and sat down on the couch.
Rachel asked the ghost "Spirit, is this the future?" The Ghost whisked them away to a lonely graveyard and pointed at one of the graves. Rachel brushed the snow off and found the grave to be overgrown with weeds and in a poor condition. The headstone was barely readable, but she made out the name engraved into the stone. "Rachel Duncan! nooooooo!" She screamed. "Why Spirit, why did you bring me here? This can't be true, there must be some mistake!" The ghost shook its head very slowly and with a wave of its arm they were standing outside her apartment once more. Rachel recalled what the spirit of Aldous had said to her. "I have come to warn you that you will be visited this night by three spirits, you should consider their words very carefully"
Rachel turned to the ghost and said "Spirit, if I change my ways, can I change the horrible future you showed me?" The Ghost still kept its silence, but gave a small shrug of its shoulders and with this it disappeared.
Next morning the snow had stopped and Rachel awoke with a start. She rushed to the window and looked outside. She called to a boy passing by her building. "You! Boy." She called."Who me?" he asked.
"Yes. What day is this?"
"Why it's Christmas day of course." He answered.
"I'm not too late." She thought.
"Can you go to the market and fetch me the largest turkey you can find?"
"What's in it for me?"
"I, I'll give you fifty dollars if you bring me the bird as soon as you can."
"How do I know you'll keep your word?"
"Okay, I'll pay you in advance." She dropped her wallet out the window and the boy picked it up.
"Now I'm trusting you, don't let me down!" Rachel rushed to the bathroom and made herself presentable; she hurried downstairs and waited for the boy to return. Good as his word the boy came walking up the street struggling under the weight of a huge turkey.
"Thank you, young man." She said as she placed the turkey in the passenger seat.
"Thank you Ma'am, and Merry Christmas."
"Yes… Merry Christmas to you too."
Rachel parked her car out the front of Felix' loft. She struggled with the bird up the stairs and thumped on the door with her foot. Fe opened the door. "It's Rachel….! She's got turkey!"
She stumbled through the door and Fe helped her put it on the table. "What do you want?" Sarah snapped.
"I, I've come to apologise. I know I have been an outright Bitch to you and our sister clones but, I want to make it up to you, all of you."
Sarah looked out the window, "there may be snow on the ground but I don't think Hell has frozen over yet!"
Helena spoke up. "How do we know this is not trick?"
"It's not a trick. Last night I learned the hard way about the consequences of my actions and I'm turning over a new leaf."
"Is winter, there is no leaf."
"It's a figure of speech, Helena"
"I'm warning you Rachel, if you pull any of your shite here today you'll regret it!"
"Sarah, you have nothing to worry about I assure you. Now, when is everyone else coming?
The stove in Fe's loft had never worked so hard! They had to trim some of the turkey so it would fit. Alison was in her element cooking the bird and cleaning as she went. Helena licked her lips in anticipation of the feast to come. Cosima seemed to be more perky than usual and even took the canula out of her nose. Fe and Sarah set the table and Art, Mrs.S, and Cal were watching Kira unwrap the present Rachel had brought her.
When dinner was over, everyone was full to bursting. Kira asked Sarah if they could sing Christmas carols and they all joined in a few verses of Jingle Bells.
Rachel felt a joy in her heart that she hadn't felt in years!
"Monkey, it's time for bed."
"Aww Mum, do I have to? It's Christmas."
Sarah relented "Okay, you can stay up a little later then."
"Aunty Rachel, can you read me a story?"
"Okay, what would you like me to read?"
"This one, it's called 'A Christmas Carol'. It's about a man who is visited by three ghosts because he doesn't believe in Christmas."
"Yes, I can relate."
"I'm stuffed" Fe groaned "I'll never eat again!"
A chorus of 'me too' echoed around the room, all except Helena. "What's for dessert?"
Everybody said it was the best Christmas ever and they couldn't wait for next year.
As they laughed and sang another round of Jingle Bells Cosima said."God bless us every one."
The End.
A/N: I can only dream of a white Christmas! We here in the southern Hemisphere always have a hot Christmas because it's summer time. So while you guys up there enjoy your winter wonderland, I'll be down here wondering why my neighbours have plastic snowmen in their yards and icicle lights hanging from the roof gutters in the middle of summer!
Merry Christmas : Maligayang Pasko : Feliz Navidad : God Jul : Joyeux Noel : Buon Natale :
Frohe Weihnachten : Mele Kalikimaka to all on Fan Fiction. !