A Petraitis Christmas Carol "Part 6"

Petraitis awakened in the darkness. He could tell that the time for the final ghost to visit was upon him for in his heart he felt a heaviness. It was as if there was a muddy river running from deep inside himself and the murk of his fear was clouding his soul.

He cried out "Darkness that dares to touch me, what manner of ghost are you? For you bring the darkness out of my very center and cloak me in it. Is this desperation of the soul my own, or is it a shroud you have cast over my very person?"

And with that utterance his weighted comfort blanket was pulled back by a hand that was more bone than flesh and more spirit than bone. Petraitis never moved. He lay still in bed and the spirit grasped his wrist more firmly than was expected. With barely an effort he pulled Petraitis upwards and for a moment both he and the ghost hovered over the bed. Then as he blinked Petraitis was taken once more out of his window and into the early morning dark.

Petraitis looked at the ghost and saw that it was all draped in what appeared to be a burial shroud. There was no face showing but a gray mist curled out where the ghost may have had a mouth. Petraitis felt fear claw at him like a tide slowly moving up a beach. Slowly he was becoming overwhelmed by the silence and the menace of the Ghost of Winter Break future for surely that is who had come to visit.

In what seemed like an instant Petraitis and the Ghost of Winter Break Future were standing in what appeared to be a green field. In the mist of time or reality Petraitis was able to make out the silhouette of a group standing together. He recognized Marley from his class, and Marley's parents and sister were there too. They stood crying at the edge of what appeared to be a very small grave and Marley held a lifeless figure wrapped in a sheet.

Petraitis turned to the ghost who had remained silent all of this time. "What is in that sheet dark ghost? What manner of sadness do you seek to show me? I did not ask for this. Tell me, now foul ghost what is in the sheet?"

The ghost only pointed as Marley kneeled at the edge of the grave and lowered the body in the sheet into the cold Weston earth. "Ghost, is that Marley's Morkie? What has become of it? A moment ago it was merely sickly and now you cast finality into the nightmare that is this night?"

Petraitis listened as Marley quietly spoke. "Good bye Fluffernutter. You were a good dog. I wish I could have spent more time with you but Petraitis kept me burdened with these ungodly packets and endless study. I wish I could have had just five more minutes to throw the ball to you or to hold you on my lap. Now slumber forever and wait for me on the rainbow bridge. I will meet you there one day."

Petraitis was horrified. He turned to the Ghost of Winter Break Future. "Tell me ghost. What foul jest is this?" The spirit pointed again. Petraitis followed the direction the finger, bony and cold was indicating. It was a tombstone and it said "Here lies Fluffernutter. His time was stolen by the cruelty, and the vanity of passing rates. His soul is in Heaven but his memory is still here on Earth."

Next to that stone was another stone. "Here Lies Petraitis. He was buried in a pet cemetery for some reason, but he lies un-mourned as everyone is still working on their packets."

"Spirit is this the future that is, or the future that will be? Tell me now, because if I have the power I would change this flow of the river and give less homework. Tell me ghost!" But the Ghost of Winter Break Future only stared ahead. Petraitis was enraged by the ghost's silence. "Answer my question ghost or this night we shall come to an impasse most unfortunate." The ghost remained silent so Petraitis wrenched his hand out of the grip of the ghost and punched him right in the opening of his shroud. The ghost staggered back and then flew at Petraitis who sidestepped and grasped the ghost by his cold, bony wrist. He twisted hard and to his surprise the arm came right off. He immediately began to beat the ghost with it over and over again shouting, "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" the ghost put up his one remaining hand and poked Petraitis in the eye. "Oh, you want to fight like that?" and Petraitis immediately grabbed the ghost by his remaining wrist and twisted it behind the ghost's back. The ghost struggled but couldn't get away. Petraitis continued to beat the ghost with his own arm and hold what was probably his face in a puddle of mud. After what seemed to be a long hour but was in reality a much shorter time the Ghost of Winter Break Future grew still. It then turned into a black cloud of dust and drifted away. Petraitis was alone. He stood looking at the dark pet graveyard and slowly the darkness faded and light grew and he was standing in his own room once more.

"Petraitis stood for a moment and tried to catch his breath. As he did so he was once more startled by the ghostly apparition of Schweitzer. Schweitzer was still draped in a chain of paper clips and binders. He looked at Petraitis and the empty shroud that lay at his feet. "What did you do?" asked Schweitzer.

"There was an altercation." Petraitis said.

"Well I think it was a bit more than an altercation. The Ghost of Winter Break Future is dead."

"Oh, is he?" Petraitis asked. "Do you know what this means? It means that I don't have to live that future! In fact if that was the ghost the brings the prophecy of death and I killed him do you know what that implies? It means I'm immortal! I kicked his ghost butt and now I will live forever and I can give as much homework as I want and never have to worry about it! No one is dragging me to an early grave! And, if possible maybe I'll try to help Fluffernutter the Morkie out. He can't help being a stupid designer dog that is more a crime against nature than an actual breed.

"Schweitzer shook his head and looked as if he was trying to figure out a math problem. Finally he just sighed, shrugged his apparition shoulders and faded from the newly immortal Petraitis' view.

END OF PART SIX (One more to follow)