A spoiled little boy gets a lesson about Christmas cheer from his favourite toys.
It was Christmas time again, and Robert Stacy was preparing his homeless shelter for the big day which was coming fast. His shelter, which he and his wife Marlene had run themselves for years, was one of the most successful in Winnipeg and they were both very proud of it. It was always so rewarding to know that someone else who might have had to spend Christmas on the streets was safe inside because of them.
However, as proud as Robert and Marlene were of their homeless shelter, they were rather worried about their son. Eight-year-old Ethan didn’t like helping out in the shelter because he would talk about nothing but his prized collection of model trains that his parents had amassed him over the years. Also, Ethan never invited any friends home to play trains with him, and he never went to anyone else’s home. It seemed that the trains were the only thing he cared about.
Both Ethan’s parents were beginning to see that they had spoiled him rotten, but nothing could’ve prepared them for the shock of what happened when they asked him what he wanted for Christmas that year. Without hesitation, Ethan asked “Dad, could you maybe close your shelter so I can have the whole space to play with my trains?”
Robert and Marlene stared at their son in horror. “Ethan, how can you want that?” gasped Marlene.
“It always gets in the way of my train time,” said Ethan. “And it is almost Christmas. That’s when trains run best, isn’t it?”
Robert shook his head slowly. “Where have I failed you, my son?”
“When you won’t let me have more train time!” cried Ethan. “I’m your son! And trains are what Christmas is all about! If you won’t get me what I want, I’ll just find a way to do it myself!” With that, he stormed up the stairs to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Ethan sat down on his bed, staring at the trains he had set up. He did indeed have quite an impressive collection. There were many steam, diesel and electric trains in it. But his favourite of each was the Blue Comet, the Royal Canadian Pacific, and the TGV Atlantique, who had broken the record for fastest train ever.
“Why do I have to go to some dumb old place to help dumb old people who should just help themselves?” he asked out loud to his trains. “You guys are what Christmas is about, right?” he asked, starting up the Blue Comet and running her around his room. But little did he know that those trains he loved more than anything didn’t agree with him on what Christmas was about at all.
For the rest of the week leading up to Christmas, Ethan and his parents didn’t talk much. Ethan knew of course, that his dad wouldn’t give him that wish, which was why he was determined to make it happen himself when he was older.
Then finally, it was Christmas Eve. The presents were under the tree, a fresh blanket of snow had fallen that afternoon and Ethan was snuggled safe in bed. But, like most kids on Christmas Eve, he just couldn’t fall asleep. The excitement of the following morning was just too much, even if he wasn’t going to get what he really wanted.
Maybe I’ll get a drink of water, he thought. He climbed out of bed, and immediately tripped over something and fell forward. But he didn’t land face first on the floor. Instead, his feet left the ground, and he found himself spinning through the air.
“Help! Mom! Dad!” he cried, but there was no response. Then, out of nowhere, he landed facedown in a snowbank. Ethan dusted himself off, got to his feet and looked around. He was no longer in his room. He was standing right next to a train station. A station in fact, that looked an awful lot like the one in his train set. And there, parked at the platform right in front of Ethan, was the Blue Comet. His Blue Comet, now grown to life-size. Before Ethan could fully register what he was seeing, his favourite steam train spoke!
“Hello Ethan. I’ve been hoping to see you for a while.”
“B-blue Comet?” stuttered Ethan. “You can talk?!”
“Well, it is Christmas Eve,” said Blue Comet. “Lots of magical things happen tonight.” Then she frowned at him. “You really think we’re more important than a place where poor people can get a decent meal?”
“Well, you’re what Christmas is about, right?” said Ethan.
Blue Comet sighed heavily. “This is going to be a long night,” she said. “Come on Ethan, we’ve got a schedule to keep. Hop in.”
Ethan didn’t hesitate. He climbed into one of the cars and with two quick blasts of the whistle, the Blue Comet set off. “Where and we going?” Ethan asked.
“We’re going to see what happened that made your father start his place, all those years ago,” said Blue Comet.
“What are you, the train of Christmas Past?” asked Ethan.
“As a matter of fact, tonight for you I am. Which reminds me. Ticket please.”
“Uh, I don’t . . .” Ethan’s voice trailed off as he felt something in his pajama pocket. He pulled out a large golden ticket on which was written THE SCROOGE EXPRESS.
“Scrooge?” Ethan asked nervously. “I’m not . . . I don’t think I should be here.” He tried to get up, but at that moment, the train gave a jolt as it picked up speed and he fell back into his seat.
“No turning back now!” said Blue Comet, as she raced around a curve and plunged into a tunnel. Ethan stared at the ticket, and now saw a small picture of the Blue Comet in one of the three small boxes that were in the top right corner of the ticket. He slipped it back in his pocket and sat very still, wondering what could be in store for him.
After what seemed like hours, the train emerged from the tunnel and onto the streets. Wait, the streets?! Ethan looked out the window in surprise. Sure enough, Blue Comet was chugging right down the streets of downtown Winnipeg, but no one seemed to notice her.
“This is simply a shadow of the past,” said Blue Comet. “No one here can see or hear us.” As Blue Comet spoke, the train began to slow down. When they stopped, Ethan saw that they had left downtown and were now in a more suburban part of the city. There, sitting on the streets in front of the train, was a small boy about Ethan’s age, and who looked remarkably like him.
“Is that . . .”
“Your father,” said Blue Comet. “Bet he never told you why he wants to give back to the poor people of the city.”
“Which house is his?” asked Ethan. But part of him already knew the answer. Sure enough, as he asked it, his father stood up and walked toward a bridge over a river. Then he stepped under it, and Ethan saw what he assumed were his grandparents huddled around a small fire.
“They lived under a bridge?” Ethan gasped.
Blue Comet nodded sadly. “Your dad and grandparents lived there for much of his childhood. Until one of his friends took them all in about a year after this scene. Now come, we have much to see.” The train started up again, and Ethan sat back in his seat, wondering how he could have failed to ask his dad about where he’d grown up.
Outside, the scenes changed so rapidly that it looked like they were back inside a tunnel. But when the train slowed down again, they began to get clearer. Then they stopped, and Ethan saw they were inside a large hall where people were dancing merrily. It was a school Christmas party and everyone was happy.
Amid the crowd, Ethan saw a young man twirling around with several of his friends. “Dad?” he called again. He leapt down from the train and tried to run to his father. But he passed right through everyone around him, and again, no one seemed to notice he was there.
“Oh, right,” he said sadly. “We’re in the past, so no one can see us.” Then as he watched, he saw his dad stop dancing as he came face-to-face with a young woman who also looked familiar.
“Oh my goodness!” he breathed. “I’m about to witness the moment my parents met.” It happened just like in all the fairy tales Ethan had read about. Robert took Marlene in his arms and danced her around the hall for the rest of the evening. At Midnight they were still up, sitting on the steps at the front of the hall talking quietly to each other.
Ethan wanted to stay here and watch them all night. But suddenly, he blinked and he was back on the train, and Blue Comet was pulling away. Before Ethan could ask how she’d done that the Old Girl said “I told you we have a schedule to keep. And there’s one more thing I have to show you. But I should warn you, you may not like it.”
“Are we getting to the really bad stuff already?” Ethan asked weakly. Blue Comet didn’t say a word. Instead, the train began to slow down again. When she stopped, Ethan could see his young parents again. They were talking with another couple, but Ethan couldn’t hear what they were saying, so he stepped down from the train. And when he did, he realised what Blue Comet had meant when she said he might not like this.
“You can’t be with him,” the older woman was saying to Ethan’s mother. “He has nothing. Are you really going to throw away your future for some loser from the gutters?”
“Oh no!” gasped Ethan. “My grandparents don’t like dad because he’s poor.” He had heard about this on several occasions, but had never known it had happened in his family.
“Look, Marlene,” said her father, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. “There are plenty of better men than him out there who will give you a good life. Why don’t you go try to find one of them?”
At that, Marlene jerked away from her dad and said “Robert loves me father. That’s all that matters, not some huge pile of money. Any rich boy you’d like me to meet will probably be a snob who doesn’t care about me at all. Just like you, apparently!”
Marlene’s parents stared at her in stunned silence. Then her father scowled and said “Then go. And may you be happy in the life you have chosen.”
“Thank you. I will be!” said Marlene. And with that, she took Robert by the hand, and the two of them stormed away without looking back.
“All right, Mom!” cried Ethan. “You showed them.” He turned to get back on the train, only to see Blue Comet start up before he got there. “Wait! Where are you going?” he called out.
“This is as far as I can take you, Ethan,” said Blue Comet. “But don’t worry, the next train will be along in a moment.” And with that, the Blue Comet chugged off into the darkness, leaving Ethan alone in the shadow of the past.
Ethan stood there, staring down the empty track. When he turned around, he saw that the figures of his grandparents were gone, but he was still outside their house.
“I never met my grandparents on Mom’s side, did I?” Ethan said out loud. “And now I know why.” Also, after seeing where his dad had grown up, Ethan was just beginning to realize how important that shelter was.
Just then he heard the unmistakable sound of a train horn in the distance. A minute later, his Royal Canadian Pacific rolled into view.
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” the big diesel laughed. “Ethan, my friend. Hop in and know me better!”
“Uh, I already know you well, Mr. – um.” He wasn’t sure what to call this train.
“Just call me Royal,” said the train. “Ticket please?”
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out the ticket he’d found when he’d gotten on Blue Comet. Now there was a small picture of the Royal Canadian Pacific next to the first train. Ethan looked around. There was clearly no other way out of this image of the past, so he climbed on board Royal and they set off to discover what Ethan’s life was like in the present.
As Royal ran through the darkness, Ethan sat in his seat, thinking deeply. As he looked at his ticket again, he kept staring at that word: Scrooge. At last, he could stand it no longer. “Royal, am I really that bad?” he asked.
He couldn’t see Royal’s face from inside the passenger car, but somehow, he could feel his favourite diesel frowning at him, just as Blue Comet had done. “You want to throw an entire homeless shelter of people onto the streets so you can have more time with us,” he said. “That seems pretty miser-like to me.” Then he said “But that’s why we’re taking you on this trip tonight, Ethan; so you can heal your soul. Ah. Here we are!”
The train came to a stop and Ethan stepped down. “This is Dad’s place!” he said. “I’ve been here countless times. I know what goes on here.”
He started to walk back to the train, but the door to the passenger car slammed shut before he could climb back on.
“Have you ever really bothered to look around at the people who walk through this building every day?” asked Royal. Ethan had to admit that he hadn’t. “Go, walk among your fellow humans for once.” Ethan looked over at the large building, incredibly unsure what awaited him inside. Then he remembered that Royal had said he and the other trains were doing this to help him heal his soul, so perhaps it would be best to listen to them. He stepped inside his dad’s homeless shelter, knowing that for the first time, he would actually look around.
There were indeed many people inside the shelter, all of them, Ethan now realised, with no place to go. But as he looked closer, he began to notice just how happy everyone was. He had always thought that homeless people were all dumb and old. But there were whole families here, some with kids Ethan’s age. How could he have failed to notice this?
The word Scrooge kept ringing in the back of Ethan’s mind, and as he looked around at all the people who walked through hid dad’s homeless shelter, it got louder and louder.
Then something caught Ethan’s eye. It was a small girl, about his age, sitting next to the electric fireplace and reading a book. And as Ethan walked over to her, he realised that it was a book about a train that traveled the world, searching for treasure to give to the poor.
“She likes trains to?” he asked, surprised. He had always thought trains were a boy thing, and yet here was a girl reading a book about them.
At that moment, the girls’ father called her name. “Melissa, it’s lunch time.”
The girl got to her feet and said “Coming!” But Ethan barely heard her. As Melissa stood up, Ethan saw her pick up a crutch. She walked back to where her parents were sitting, with a nasty limp.
With his heart sinking, Ethan walked back outside to his favourite diesel. “Royal,” he said, very softly. “What’s wrong with that little girl?”
Royal sighed heavily. “She has a rare liver condition,” he said. “I don’t know the details, but I do know that it is expensive to treat.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Ethan asked, hugging himself.
“Oh yes, I’m sure she will be,” said Royal. “As long as your parents keep supporting her and her family. But why should they? Dumb old people should just help themselves, right?”
Ethan felt as if all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. That girl was certainly not old or dumb. She was someone who shared his passion. How could he not have noticed her all these years?
“My eyes must really be shut tight,” he said, softly. “I really am a Scrooge.”
“Come,” said Royal. “There is much to see.” Knowing that he now trusted Royal, Ethan climbed back on board to continue his life-changing journey.
Ethan and Royal went to many homes around Winnipeg that night, and in all of them, they saw all kinds of people celebrating the holidays in their own way. Many families had the traditional turkey dinner on Christmas Day. Others had ham or other cold slices. Some people went to church, while most opened their presents in the morning.
After what felt like several hours, Royal came to a stop in an open field. “My time with you has ended Ethan,” he said. “Will you heed the lessons I have taught you tonight?”
“I don’t know,” said Ethan as he stepped off the train. “I – I just always thought more about you than anything else. How can all that change in one night?”
“Well, like Blue Comet said, it’s Christmas Eve. Anything can happen tonight. Farewell my friend. I hope we will both keep taking care of each other.” And with that, the Royal Canadian Pacific started up and disappeared down the tracks.
Ethan stood trembling in the quiet, snow-covered field. He was beginning to wonder if he should try to find his way home, when he heard another train horn in the distance. But this one sounded dull and feeble. With a sinking heart, Ethan turned around and saw the TGV Atlantique rolling up to him.
One look at Atlantique’s face made Ethan take a step back. This was what he’d been dreading ever since he had read the word “Scrooge” on his ticket.
“Hello Ethan,” Atlantique said softly. “Ticket please.”
“Are – are you going to show me the future?” Ethan asked, very quietly.
“Yes, I am,” said Atlantique.
Ethan shivered. “I’m scared,” he said. “Can’t I just go home? I’ve seen now how wrong I’ve been.”
“No,” Atlantique said softly. “I’m sorry Ethan, but to fully change you need to see the consequences of your selfish thoughts. Don’t worry. I’ll be right here with you. Ticket please?”
Ethan sighed. He pulled his ticket out of his pocket. Sure enough, there was a small picture of Atlantique on it now. Knowing there was no other way out of this field, Ethan climbed on board and they set off into the future.
The electric TGV should have been an incredibly smooth ride, but Ethan could feel something rattling around inside the cars. Yet another sign that what ever he was about to see wouldn’t be good. All too soon, Atlantique stopped. Knowing she wouldn’t move again until he saw what he’d been brought here to see, Ethan climbed down.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“Don’t you recognise the street where you live?” asked Atlantique.
Ethen looked up at her and around him again. “Actually, no,” he said. Looking up at the street sign he saw that they were in fact on his home street. But it looked completely different. And then he saw why.
“Hey, that’s where my house should be!” he cried. “And the shelter too!” Ethan and his family lived upstairs from their homeless shelter. But now there was a huge cassino in its place. “What happened?” cried Ethan.
“What do you think?” said Atlantique. “You want to use the space for nothing but playing with us. But if you do only that you’re not going to be able to hold onto it for very long. You won’t make any money so someone’s going to take that place from you.”
“And Dad will be on the streets again,” Ethan realised with his heart sinking even further. It was just as bad as he’d been dreading.
Then Atlantique opened the door to her passenger car again. “Come. There is much to see.” After this Ethan wasn’t sure he wanted to see anything more. But he didn’t want to stay in this image forever either. He climbed back on board and they set off again.
Looking through the window, Ethan saw that there were a lot more homeless people on the streets than he had seen before. “Don’t tell me this is my fault too?” he said, desperately.
“Not entirely,” replied Atlantique. “But it will get more expensive to live in cities like Winnipeg in the future, so these people will need all the help they can get.” Then she sped up and the homeless people disappeared behind them.
Ethan lowered his gaze to his feet. Was one bad decision really all it took to create so much chaos? He thought he had seen all he had to change, but before he could say anything Atlantique stopped and Ethan felt a dull blow to his stomach. They were in a cemetery.
Ethan didn’t want to move from his seat, but suddenly he had to know. He climbed down and walked toward the large crowd that stood at the top of a hill. He moved right through the people to the front, bracing himself for the worst. But what he saw was far worse than anything he could’ve imagined. There were two coffins being lowered into the ground. And one of them was very, very small.
Ethan put it together at once. Without support from Robert’s shelter, Melissa’s condition had gotten worse. It hadn’t killed her, but it had made her incredibly weak. She had died giving birth to a stillborn baby.
“Atlantique, show me no more. Please take me home.”
“We’re not finished I’m afraid.”
The scene around Ethan suddenly changed. Now it was Autumn. The crowd was gone but there were two people filling in another grave. Then Ethan heard one of them say “After all this, no one here to bid him farewell.” Then he and his companion walked away without a backward glance.
Just knowing what was coming, Ethan walked over to the headstone. But he was wrong again. The name on it was Robert Stacy.
“Dad!” cried Ethan. He looked frantically at his favourite electric train. “This can’t be! He’s a great man. Everyone says so!”
“Everyone says so now,” replied Atlantique. “But, if you give yourself your incredibly selfish wish, everyone will know that you’re not a good man. And who do you think they’ll blame that on?”
“Nooooooooooo!!” Ethan fell to his knees. “Father! I’m sorry!” He sat there with his face in his hands for a long time before staggering back to the train. “Please! Tell me this isn’t real! This isn’t what I wanted!”
“What is it that you want?”
“I just want all this to change!”
Atlantique smiled for the first time since arriving. “Oh, things can change,” she said. Looking around, Ethan saw that the track ahead of them split into two tracks. “There are other, more hopeful futures I can show you,” said Atlantique. “Do you want to see one of them?”
Ethan looked down the track. He was greatly relieved that what he’d just seen wasn’t the only possibility, but did he want to see where the other ones led to?
“No thank you,” he said after a moment. “I think I should discover them myself.”
“A wise choice,” said Atlantique. “Come Ethan, let’s get you home.” With great relief that it was over, Ethan climbed back on board and the TGV Atlantique set off into the night once again. As the train rolled on, Ethan thought about what he had just said to his favourite electric. It’s true , he realised. Dad is a great man. I’ve been so foolish not to see that until now. And after everything he had been through tonight, Ethan suddenly felt exhausted. He sat back in his seat, and fell asleep.
When Ethan woke up, he was back in his bed and it was Christmas morning. “Was it all a dream?” he wondered aloud. Then he looked at his train set. Blue Comet, Royal and Atlantique were set up at the station right next to each other. They hadn’t been there last night.
“No. It was real. Somehow,” said Ethan. He looked at his three favourite trains and said “Thank you.”
A momet later there was a knock on the door. “Ethan,” came a familiar voice. “It’s morning.”
“Dad!” cried Ethan. He ran to his bedroom door, flung it open and leapt into his father’s arms. “I’m so glad to see you!”
“Oh!” said Robert, surprised. “I’m glad to see you too, son. But I haven’t gone anywhere, have I?”
“Oh Dad, you’ll never guess what happened last night!” said Ethan. He nodded toward his model trains. “They Scrooged me!”
“Who did? The trains?” asked Robert. He looked over at Ethan’s favourite things. He looked quite skeptical for a moment, but then he looked back at his son who did indeed look different. “How was it?” he asked.
“Awful,” said Ethan. “And amazing. Dad, I’m so sorry.”
Robert held his son close. “I’m sorry too. It’s usually the parent’s fault that the child ends up spoiled. Come on, son. Let’s open some presents, and then I’ll show you how everything really works around here.
That afternoon, Ethan and his dad walked around the homeless shelter giving everyone their soups for the day. They all took their food pleasantly and Ethan couldn’t help but notice that, though these people had fallen on hard times, they were still happy with what they were able to have thanks to his father’s efforts.
Then, around lunchtime, he went over to the fireplace. There was Melissa reading her book. Ethan felt like he owed her an apology more than anyone else. He sat down next to her. “Hello.”
“Oh, hi,” said Melissa, only looking up for a moment.
“You like trains, huh?” said Ethan.
“Yes,” said Melissa. “But Mommy and Daddy say that those are boy’s toys. I’ve never gotten the model trains I’ve always wanted.”
Ethan looked at her and smiled. This kid had more in common with him than he’d realised. “Come with me,” he said, holding out his hand. “There’s something I want to show you.”
