"Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to
me?" asked Scrooge.

"I am."

The voice was soft and gentle. Singularly low, as if
instead of being so close beside him, it were at a distance.

"Who, and what are you?" Scrooge demanded.

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past."

"Long Past?" inquired Scrooge: observant of its dwarfish stature.

"No. Your past."

-A Christmas Carol.
Charles Dickens