A Snow Globe to Remember

The time was 5:33 am, the same time she’d been waking up for the past four days. The last couple of weeks were rough. Between her boyfriend leaving her, her friends ditching her for being too boring, and her hours getting cut because tourist season is over, she’s completely over everything. It was bad enough that she moved to this seaside town without any family around, but to think that the only people she knew would leave her lonely made her feel worthless. An absolutely great time in my life she thought bitterly.

The hardwood floor had been chilled thanks to the near freezing temperatures that she still could not get used to. A pair of fuzzy socks and slippers to the rescue she mused. Her oversized hoodie and plaid pajama bottoms, both covered in paint from fixing holes in the wall, kept what little warmth she had insulated under the layers as she travelled around the living space. Her plain blue mug sat on the counter as she turned on the kettle to prepare some instant coffee. She cracked a small smile at the thought of a warm cup of caffeine and sugar. As she looked out of the window, she noticed the grey clouds hovering over the skies, depriving the town beneath of much needed sunlight. The people she observed were walking around in the wintry landscape she’d begun to loathe so deeply, just seeing the Christmas decor in the stores brought out an irrational rage inside of her. The kettle’s screams broke her out of her haze. She quickly poured the water, shut off the stove, and walked to her day bed.

She sat there for an hour, shoulders slouched, neck extended, and eyes locked onto her phone screen as if it held all the secrets of curing her heartbreak and loneliness. The stillness in the house disturbed her, so she turned up the volume on her video about making the best chocolate chip cookies. A small tapping sound came from her door, pausing her concentration, but decided against seeing what it was. The tapping came again, this time a bit louder than before which caused her to turn in frustration. With a huff, she stood. Her feet carried her over to the door, annoyed she had to move in the first place and opened to see the punk that dared to interrupt her down time. There was no one at the door; not a single footstep led to nor from her doorway. Only a wrapped box sat by her feet with a note and a red rose lying on the top of it. Confusion had crept its way onto her face, slowly transforming it with each passing second as she looked around searching for any sign that this wasn’t a joke. She noticed some people passing by, probably gossiping about the things going on in their lives, yet they had come from too far away to have been the culprits. Slowly she bent down to get a closer look at the box. The note on the top read:

Dear friend, I hope this finds you well. I’m saddened to see you lock yourself away from the world, not being able to heal from the pain. I hope this puts you in a better mood.

No name had signed off on the note, nor, upon further observation, was there a name to identify who it was from. She wracked her brain around all of the possibilities, but no one came to mind. Stunned at the idea, she brought it inside to see what it could possibly be.

The box sat on her coffee table as she stared at it for half an hour. She decided against shaking it in case it was made of glass, but even after bringing it in she was too afraid to open the box. I won’t know unless I open it, she thought. After cutting through the ribbon that secured the box’s secrets, a strong aroma sprang out from its confines. Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves danced their way into her nose. Whatever was inside had been loosely covered by some gift paper, yet she was able to make out something wooden underneath. Her hands dug out the paper ready to discover the mystery behind the box.

A small potpourri sachet was the source of the scent, but next to it laid the true gift. A little girl skating on the iced over lake as her family watches in awe while gathered around a firepit and snowcapped trees surrounding the bunch, all encapsulated in a snow globe. Underneath the snow globe was a little crank that, when wound, played Once Upon a Dream from Sleeping Beauty. The song came out like a soft lullaby that chiseled away bits of the ice holding her heart hostage. She gazed down at the snow globe, a single tear falling, as she contemplated. I haven’t shown myself some TLC in a while and those ingrates don’t deserve to ruin my life when they’re not even here. The song was her favorite in her childhood as was the movie it came from. Every Christmas she would ask her mom to play Sleeping Beauty, while the adults prepared for brunch. Afterwards, they would all go out to her grandpa’s lake, skates in her hand, as they all played in the snow. She however would dash to the frozen lake twirling on the ice imagining she were a princess in her own movie. She shot up from her spot on the couch, determined for what she didn’t yet know, but she knew she had to do something. Tears streamed down her face the more she wiped them away. Her feet yet again carried her to the kitchen, this time to warm up some food as she got dressed. She ran back out of the room, partially cleansed of her depressive funk and dressed in hopeful rejuvenation to gain back what she lost. Carefully, she placed the snow globe back into the box, placing the paper around to keep it in place, and putting the top back on. Her keys that once hung by the door, now jingled in her hands as she stepped into the world for the first time in a long time.

The ice rink didn’t have many people inside, save for the workers, but she didn’t mind. She walked up to the counter praying they had her shoe size. The guy looked, found them, and handed them over all while never breaking eye contact from his phone. She gladly took the skates, shrugging off the guy’s inability to pay attention to the person in front of him. A lone bench was the perfect place for her to put them on. Once she tied the skates to her feet, a wave of emotions overtook her. The nostalgic feeling of wearing them, the joy of her youth, the love her family held for each other, all flooded her mind. She opened the box again to take out the snow globe. A twist in the right direction and the music began to play. Her body swayed to its melody as she stood to go onto the ice. As the song played, she skated across the ice, her body dancing as she moved. The more she stayed on the ice, the more she felt like herself again. The song made its end as she too stopped for a beat, but the second she motioned towards the exit the song played through the speakers. Surprised by the change from the silence, she looked around to see what happened. The guy from the front gave her a thumbs up and motioned for her to continue. Her gaze blurred as tears threatened to fall down again, but she squeezed them away and with a smile went back to her icy dance.