BCC Chapter 2: Remember Who You Are

“Basil? Basil?” Basil thought he was dreaming when he heard a small voice calling his name. “Wake up Basil!” Basil jumped and found he wasn't dreaming after all.

When he looked around he saw a small boy standing by Dawson's chair. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, still feeling a little tired, before asking. “Who are you, and how in the world did you get in here?” The young boy laughed and introduced himself. “I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past, and I found my own way in.” The boy winked at Basil before bursting into laughter again.

By now Basil was wide awake and was able to take a good look at this young intruder. The boy was Olivia's age, and reminded Basil of her with his energy and childish nature. His fur was a golden-brown color and appeared to glow in the firelight. He wore a cream colored shirt, a red and gold plaid vest with gold buttons, black pants, black shoes so shiny Basil could see the reflection of the moonbeams shining through the window in them, a dark red jacket again with gold buttons, and a black newsboy cap. In his hand was a small bag full of gold dust that glowed as brightly as his fur.

Basil, though still skeptical since he didn't believe in such things as ghosts, got up from his chair and walked over to the boy. “So you say you are the Ghost of Christmas Past?” Basil asked with a raised brow “What might you be doing here on Christmas Eve?”

The boy crossed his arms and told Basil “You think you should quit being a detective, and that your work is nothing more than a game. I'm here to remind you of why you started with detective work in the first place.”

Before Basil could respond the boy took some of the dust from his bag and threw it into the air. Suddenly, Basil found himself in his old home where he had grown up. He looked around so surprised to see the old place, and his smile grew as all the memories came rushing back to him. He then heard an all too familiar voice calling out.

“Basil, do you see my house keys? We can't just run our errands and leave the house unlocked.” Basil then heard a much younger voice call back, “Not yet mother, but I'll keep looking.” Basil was stunned to see his younger self, no older than Olivia and the spirit, run out of the parlor and into the hall where they were standing.

As he watched in amazement as his former self hunted for his mother's missing keys he asked, “spirit, where are we, or when are we?” The spirit laughed and told him, “we're in your childhood home back when you were just a boy. These are your memories from long ago, and from just yesterday. You can only see them however, you cannot touch or talk to them because the past has already happened, and cannot be changed.”

Still stunned Basil watched his former self come to a stop near where he was standing. The young detective suddenly began studying the wall where his mother usually hung her keys and then bent down and reached into one of her shoes. “Mother I found the keys!” the young boy cried triumphantly. “They fell into your shoe when the hook fell off the wall.”

Basil's mother came to the hallway very happy her son had found the house keys, now they wouldn't be late getting everything done. “Well done Basil! You certainly have an eye for details. What ever would I do without you?” The young detective just giggled and handed the keys to his mother. She took them, locked the door, and hand-in-hand the two were on their way.

“You certainly were good at 'simple cases' Basil,” teased the boy, “even back then.” Basil huffed and brushed the remark off. “Anyone would help their own parents.” The spirit put his hands on his hips and gave Basil the same look Olivia had after Basil accused her of simply “losing” her father. He then threw another small fistful of dust into the air, and Basil's home faded as a beautiful park appeared around them. Basil found himself standing on a snowy sidewalk on a beautiful sunny day. As he looked around, he spotted a slightly older him running through the park with his friends.

“Why that's Jeremy, and Lucy, and Jonny, and Arthur, my childhood friends!” Basil was as excited as a child in a candy store to see his old friends again. He had almost forgotten about them after they went their separate ways with school and careers. He began to wonder where they were now and how they were doing. Perhaps he would write to them after this crazy dream was over...

“Hurry up Basil!” called Lucy. “You're going to make us all late.” Basil looked and saw his former self dusting the snow off before picking up his books and racing back after his friends. “I'm coming, I'm coming, I slipped on black ice.” Basil couldn't help but chuckle, remembering it wasn't just the black ice that had slowed him down that day, when he fell he also got snow down his pants (though he didn't tell his friends that).

As Basil watched the five friends race off to school, he suddenly found himself standing in the old school room he use to go to as a child. The five children raced in along with their classmates and took their seats as their teacher rang her bell to call the class to order.

“Spirit,” Basil whispered, “I think something happened today, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was.” The boy held his finger to his lips and smiled a kind of 'I know something you don't know' smile. “Shh, watch and see for yourself.”

“Class before we start today's lesson I must first ask all of you to take a good look around at all of your classmates.” The children did as they were told and wondered what was going on. Their teacher only started the day with that tone of voice when something had happened. “One of the faces you are looking at is a cheater and a thief!” Small gasps could be heard around the room as everyone (or most everyone) was stunned to hear that one of their friends and classmates could be in so much trouble, let alone was being accused of doing something like stealing or cheating. “One of you took the test answers for your exam next week, and I want to know who it was.” All the children were silent as they looked around at each other wondering who it was. “I will warn you that I already know who the culprit is,” the teacher explained, “but I want to give the guilty person a chance to come forward on their own.” Nobody said a word, and their teacher grew more and more impatient as time ticked by. After about five minutes of waiting she finally broke the silence. “Alright, since no one is going to tell me the truth I will tell you. The one who took the test answers, and who has cost everyone recess today, is Isabel.” The teacher gave Isabel a hard look that made her shrink in her seat. This reaction wasn't because she had done what she was accused of doing, but because everyone knew better than to cross their teacher, especially when it came to following the rules and being honest. “Come up here Isabel, right now.” Isabel slowly stood up and walked to the front of the room. Everyone knew she would be in BIG trouble at the end of the day, but no one said a word, too scared of landing in the same position.

As Basil watched the memory unfolding before him, he couldn't help but notice his former self eying another boy in the row next to his. This boy had a smirk on his face as Isabel walked slowly by, and there was a piece of paper sticking out of his desk, though not noticeable to most since his desk was always messy.

“Excuse me,” the twelve-year-old called as he raised his hand and stood up, “but Padraic has a piece of paper sticking out of his desk that looks like questions and answers.” Everyone turned to look at Padraic, who quickly lost his smirk and started scowling at Basil. “Padraic Ratigan!” the teacher scolded as she walked over to him and opened his desk, “I might have known it.” She removed the stack of test answers and noticed one page missing. “Isabel I owe you an apology. When I was cleaning up the classroom yesterday I found one of the pages of answers sticking out of your desk. I now know it was Padraic who not only stole the answer sheets, but also had the audacity to place one of them in your desk and lie about it.” The teacher was furious as she pulled Ratigan to the front of the class by his ear. She then made him apologize to the class and sent him to the corner (he'd be in for it after school). As he trudged to the corner he huffed under his breath “curse you Basil, I'll get you for this.”

As Isabel breathed a sigh of relief and headed back to her seat she turned and ran over to Basil. “You're my hero” she said before giving him a kiss on the cheek. Basil's face turned red and he had a hard time talking. “I....uh...'cough'...it...it was nothing.” Isabel giggled and skipped back to her seat. The other children couldn't help but giggle too, as Basil sat back down, still a bright red. The teacher chuckled, knowing how embarrassed some of the children got over things like this, then continued with the day's lessons as planned.

Basil watched as the class got straight to their work, and come recess, they rushed out of the room faster than if they had herd the ice cream cart rolling by. Ratigan was kept in and Basil saw the scornful glare he was giving his former self from the window, as he stood at the chalkboard writing “I will not steal I will not lie” as part of his punishment. Out on the playground all the kids were around Basil teasing him a little, but also congratulating him and thanking him for getting their recess back, and saving Isabel by showing the teacher who the real thief and liar was. “Really it was nothing,” insisted Basil, “I just pointed out the facts.” The other children laughed and pointed out to Basil that none of them saw what he had seen. Even if they had, none of them were brave enough to stand up to their teacher like that, and basically tell her she was wrong. “You should be a detective,” Jeremy told him, “you're bloody good at solving mysteries.” The young Basil smiled and crossed his arms with pride. Perhaps he would become a detective, after all, he was good at finding things and liked helping people. And seeing that troublemaker put in his place by their teacher gave him an even greater feeling of pride.

As Basil watched his younger self standing with this friends with that look of pride and satisfaction on his face, everything began to change like images in a kaleidoscope. He saw the twelve-year-old him grow and change as he went through school. He saw himself playing with his friends, doing sports, getting lost in books between his studies, taking violin lessons... Finally, he saw the same look of pride his younger self had worn on his parents' faces as they watched their son walk up to get his college diploma. His father had been especially proud because Basil had taken an interest in science just like he had as a boy. In fact, Basil's father was the head of the science department of another university. Seeing his son following in his footsteps, at least in terms of interests, gave him an enormous feeling of pride, and seeing how Basil looked on stage when he received his diploma made both of his parents feel like cheering. As Basil watched he noticed his former self was dressed not only in the cap and gown of the university, but also in every honor that could be bestowed to a graduate. He watched as this young man walked with a feeling of pride across the stage, took his diploma, and held that look of pride all the way back to his seat (though he eased for a second to smile at his parents in the audience). Yes, Basil had a lot to be proud of that day, and many more days after that. Actually, when he thought about it, there really were few days he didn't care to even try and remember. Perhaps Dawson and Mrs. Judson were right, and he had just hit a patch of bad luck and just needed to get his hands on another big case to get the spring back in his step.

Before he could make any solid conclusions, or get too lost in thought, Basil found himself once again back outside in the park. This time however, there was nobody there but himself and the spirit.

“So Basil,” the boy asked in a calmer more sympathetic tone, “do you still think your life's work is worthless and not worth continuing with?” Basil for once in his life didn't know how to respond. His mind was flooded with all the memories he had long forgotten from his childhood. All the friends and events that had filled his life with such joy and meaning back then had all but faded away over the years. After he and his friends had gone their separate ways, and his parents had passed, Basil simply tried to push those memories out of his mind so he could stay focused on his work. Perhaps this was part of the problem, he had become so involved with his work that there was little else on his mind, much like pursuing Ratigan. Was his work really work or just an obsession that kept him from everything else? Basil contemplated these things as he closed his eyes and walked on.

“Remember Basil, you created these memories yourself. You have no one else to blame for what has happened but you.” The boy wanted to show Basil more sympathy, but the truth was he could only show Basil these images of so long ago, not change them. “But you know,” he said trying to end their journey on a happier note, “the past doesn't have to repeat itself. If you can just stay positive and persevere the way you did when you were a boy you'll...” the spirit suddenly stopped as he looked back at Basil who was heading for quite a fall. “Basil look out!” Basil turned his head to look for what startled the boy but it was too late. His foot caught a rock buried in the snow, and he found himself stumbling onto the frozen lake. To his horror, the ice wasn't as thick as it usually was due to the sunnier slightly warmer day, and he found himself between a crack and an ice drift. The boy tried to run and help him, but before he could get there, Basil fell through the ice into the frigid water below. As he sank below the surface, Basil caught a glimpse of a bright light shining through the water above him, as the boy threw the last of his dust toward the hole and shouted “Remember who you are Basil of Baker Street!!!” As the words rang in his ears Basil closed his eyes and sank deeper and deeper into the bone chilling water...