The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come did not respond. Jim thought that he spoke too softly and that the ghost didn’t hear his question.   

The spirit merely nodded its head. He was hooded with a scythe and the axe made him look threatening. Even though the spirit was only here to be helping Jim, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated by its mysterious appearance. 
 

“Do you…um…. Do you not… talk?” 
 

The spirit nodded his head once again. Jim slowly got out of his comfortable bed and apprehensively walked up to the eerie figure.   
 

“You’re here to show me things that will happen in the future, right?”  
 

The spirit bowed his head for a third time. He pointed his tall axe to the right and the warmth of Jim’s bedroom disappeared. Dunder Mifflin appeared for the fifth time that night. Jim stood and watched as his future self walked to his desk.

Jim turned to look at the reception desk; it was empty, all Pam’s belongings were gone. There were no jellybeans on the counter and no plastic flowers. Her pink coat was not on the rack. The door to the office opened again and a woman Jim had never seen before walked up to Michael’s office.  
 

“Hi, I’m Brianna. I’m going to be your new receptionist.” 
 

Jim didn’t hear the rest of the conversation between Brianna and Michael. His mind was spinning too much and he couldn’t keep his thoughts together. What had happened to Pam? Whatever it was, he knew it was his fault. He knew Pam probably left because she lost her best friend, the one person who understood her and should have been able to rely on for support.  
 

Aside from Pam, Michael was in a bad condition. He had a beard and his hair was way to long. All of the toys were off his desk and the posters were no longer present on his walls. He didn’t smile or crack any jokes.  Jan must have really gotten to him. He watched as Brianna made her way to the reception desk and sit down.  
 

The main phone rang; she picked it up and said, “Dunder Mifflin, this is Brianna.” It just didn’t sound right. He knew that he would never get used to it.  
 

He walked closer so he could see what she looked like. Her hair was in a tight bun and she had a huge mole on her cheek. He swore he saw a hair growing out of it. Her eyes were grey and she appeared to be anorexic. She looked severe, like a skeletal librarian.  Pam was anything but severe. Pam was beautiful. Her eyes were so green and they glistened when she was excited about something. When she smiled they would pop. She had no moles or hair growing in strange places. She wasn’t skeletal either; she was curvy in the perfect way.  Jim forced himself to stop thinking of those curves even though he loved them so much. 
 

God, stop it! Stop thinking about her! I know she just told herself that she loved me, but could we really make things work? She’s so upset with me now that it just feels impossible for things to go back to normal.  
 

Jim watched as Kelly made her way up to the reception desk. 
 

“Oh my God, HI! I’m Kelly and I work in Customer Services and I’m sooo excited you’re here. It’s really fun, but Dwight is weird, oh and just for you to know Ryan is totally off limits. Anyway, I was thinking that I should take you shopping to welcome you do Dunder Mifflin—“ 
 

“Please stop your insane talking; it’s giving me a headache.” Brianna gave Kelly a look that could silence a machine gun. It was a look that even Angela would be envious of. Jim heard Kevin giggle and Phyllis gasp. He saw Dwight gave Brianna a warning stare. With that being said, Brianna swallowed three Advil and Kelly turned away in a fury. Jim heard her say, “I miss Pam.” 
 

I miss her too.  
 

All of a sudden, the environment changed and Jim was standing with the spirit in a fancy church. He looked in the pews and saw how formally everybody was dressed, but he didn’t recognize any of the guests. The organ began to play The Wedding March. He turned and saw Karen walk through the doors at the back of the church in a wedding gown. He looked up at to the alter and saw Martin standing next to the reverend. He knew that he was at their wedding. He watched the ceremony.  When they made their way down the aisle he noticed how happy both of them looked. Karen was stunning. Her dress must have cost more than his car. He wondered if she left Dunder Mifflin and got a high paying job.  Jim had a hundred questions running through his head. He wanted to ask the spirit all of them, but he knew the spirit didn’t talk, so he was forced to keep them to himself.  He sat on the steps to the altar and ran a hand through his hair. He had to ask at least one question. 
 

“Umm… are these shadows glimpses of things that will be or may be?” 
 

The spirit didn’t say anything or even nod or shake his head. He just pointed his axe to the right and the surroundings changed. They were now standing inside a very run-down house with four kids running around and screaming. 
 

“I lost another job today and I have to come home to screaming brats! If you don’t shut the hell up I will put you up for adoption!” 
 

The loud, deep voice startled Jim. He turned around and saw Roy holding a beer bottle. He smashed it on a table and started walking drunkenly to the kids. He picked the one running up by threw the broken beer bottle at his back. 
 

“Roy, put him down! Stop it now!”

Jim watched Pam run into the room. 
 

Those kids, they’re hers! She and Roy must be married.  
 

Pam didn’t look like herself at all. She had dark circles under her eyes that showed her lack of sleep. Her hair was tangled and she looked too skinny. The curves that Jim loved to watch when she would walk past him to the break room were gone. She was wearing baggy sweatpants and an oversized shirt. She just looked… depressed She grabbed Roy’s arm. She tried to pry the kid out of his grasp. He finally dropped him and grabbed Pam. 
 

“Stop tellin’ me what to do!” Roy slurred. 
 

Roy pulled his arm back and slapped Pam. The sound of the smack rang in Jim’s ears as he saw tears begin to fall from her eyes. The kids ran into a corner. They held each other and cried. Roy threw Pam onto the floor and started throwing things at her. She was too dazed to get away. He threw the cushions from the couch first, and then things like plates, chairs, and finally, a glass lamp. The lamp landed on her head. Jim heard her scream. 
 

“PAM!” He screamed and ran up to her, but he couldn’t touch her. He was crying harder than he ever had. He remembered then that she couldn’t hear him. He couldn’t block Roy from grabbing her again. 
 

Roy pushed Pam against the wall. Jim watched as her head collided with the dry wall. The screaming abruptly stopped. He watched as Pam’s skin turned pale and her face lost all expression. Her eyes rolled back into her head and Roy dropped her to the floor. Jim bent down to her and couldn’t see her chest moving. The children were wailing for their mom.

She was dead.

Jim sat there, crying, until Pam faded away and he was soon standing at a graveyard.  He saw one big grave and four little ones right by it. He bent down and read the name on the gravestone.  
 

It read Pamela Beesly Anderson. The four next to it were her kids’. Each stone had the same date. He couldn’t understand why Roy would want to kill his whole family. Jim would have never even thought it was possible.  Roy killed her. Guilt started filling up in Jim.
 

 It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have left. I should have been there for her. I abandoned her and now she’s dead.   
 

Jim began to cry harder. He dropped to his knees in front of Pam’s headstone. He was crying so hard that he could hardly breathe. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, he was back in his bedroom. The Ghost of Christmas Future was slowly walking away into the fog.  
 

I am still in love with Pam. I never fell out of love. I still want her, more than anything. 
 

Jim wasn’t sure if what had just happened was a dream. All he knew was that he couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see Pam and make things better. He realized that he needed to fix things right then. He couldn’t let all of those horrible images that he saw in the future come true. He could change things. He had to change. He was starting, right now. 
 

He reached for the phone and dialled Pam’s number, which he shockingly still knew by memory. As soon as he pressed ‘call’, he hung up. 
 

Is it too late for us? I know she said she loved me, but will she forgive me for everything I’ve caused? Will things be completely awkward between us? Come on. Pull it together, Halpert. I need to take a chance.  
 

He took a deep breath before dialling her number a second time. The phone rang once before she picked up. When she answered he could still hear the tears in her voice. He wanted to brush them away. He listened to the crack in her breath before she spoke.

That’s when he heard: “Jim?”