As the clock struck midnight, the old man sat in his parlor and whispered the words, just as he’d done every Christmas Eve for the last hundred years.
“Bah, Humbug.”
As the church bells tolled the hour, he saw a bright light/ His spirit lifted, hoping that this was the year the Ghosts would return and end his curse. But it was just a passing truck’s headlights. He sighed, defeated.
He was trapped for another year in the bargain that had been struck, leaving him adrift in the loneliness of time.
For he was Tiny Tim, Who Could Not Die.

“‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens – This Edition Published by Macy’s; Illustrated by Daub’s Studio” by Jim, the Photographer is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.

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