The Snow Globes

Chapter 1

The craft store was closed and darkness came early on these winter nights. The store’s display table was filled with snow globes, each containing one solitary character. The snow globes were all dark and quiet just as the store was.

Then, suddenly, one snow globe lit up. A dim light, but enough to see that the snow inside was swirling about at high speed. The occupant, a snowman, was awake.

“There must be more to life than this,” the snowman said aloud, but to himself. He was worried and anxious, which showed from the snowstorm raging inside his globe.

“I feel so alone,” the snowman continued. “The globe keeps me safe, but it also keeps me far from everyone and everything.”

The snowman was crying and his tears added to the water inside his globe.

The inside of the globe was brightly colored and beautiful. It was decorated just the way the snowman wanted it. The Globe Maker let the snowman decorate it any way he wanted. The snowman brought in the things that interested him. He brought in a snow shovel, an igloo, a frozen pond, and a pair of ice skates. When the snowman said he was done decorating, then the Globe Maker put the snow in and closed the globe over the snowman.

It was all fine and wonderful for a while. The snowman had all of his favorite things with him. They kept him busy and interested, until one day they did not.

Now uninterested in the globe’s interior, the snowman turned his attention outside. He would look through his globe and marvel at all the wonderful things outside of his globe. The snowman would then look at and talk to other characters in their snow globes. In this way, the snowman did make some friends. But, the snowman did not feel as close to them as he wanted to. Who did he sometimes talk to?

There was a snow globe that held a T-Rex dinosaur, who was always nervous because cold snow and cold-blooded dinosaurs did not go together nicely. There was a snow globe with a very small red bird called a cardinal that would fly about the globe from one tree to the other tree that was in the globe. There was a snow globe with a penguin who fit in with the snow very nicely. There was a snow globe with a dolphin who swam about gracefully in the water stirring up the snow into a storm. There was a globe with an owl sitting on a big tree branch.

There were many other globes, but, interestingly, there was also a snow globe with a Santa Claus, who worked so hard at being generous to everyone and connecting with others that his globe shrank around him and the globe’s walls became thinner. Santa Claus did actually become a bit closer to others. However, his globe that became smaller and thinner around him was still there. Even Santa did not have the power or wisdom to get completely out of the globe.

There were many other characters in different globes. Some residents of the globes tried extreme measures to get out. A few threw the items inside their globes against the globe wall with all their might again and again and again—but to no avail. It did not work.

Chapter 2

Every evening, after the craft store closed but before night came, the snow globes would move about the display table. They chatted about the funny-looking customers that came in the store. Some shoppers would pick up a snow globe and peer inside at very close range. The globe and the water distorted their faces, so they all looked strange and funny. Sometimes, you could see up a customer’s nose. Ick!

Talking about the strange-looking shoppers was always interesting, until one day it was not very interesting anymore to the snowman.

Each snow globe sat atop a music box. Each character got to choose their own tune before they were closed inside their globe. The tune was not usually a famous tune. Most often, the melody matched the movements of the character’s inner life. Some had joyful tunes. Others had serious tunes. Some had thoughtful tunes. There were fast tunes. There were slow tunes. There were even a few characters who chose sad tunes.

The snow globes often gathered in small groups based on their tunes. The happy tunes attracted globes with other happy tunes. Same with the serious tunes and the sad tunes. The type of tune said a great deal about which globes became friends with which other globes.

Feeling far from others was often a complaint of the snow globes. Different characters would go through phases. For periods of time, a character would feel fine. Then, they might go through a period of time in which they felt quite sad and lonely.

When a globe was not doing well, the snow within their globe would swirl. Sometimes, the inner storms were so intense that you could not see the character inside.

Different characters responded to their situations in different ways. Some characters often redecorated their inner world by moving things around inside so their globe would take on a slightly different look. Other characters stacked up their inner items to build a second wall inside the globe’s wall. Then, they hid behind the stacked wall they had made.

Most of the characters accepted that they could not get any closer to anyone else or anything else. Every once in a while, a character might have a yearning to be closer to someone or something outside the globe. Or, a character might have a thought that there must be more to life than this. The owl said it best, “The real life is absent for us because we are in our globes.”

The dolphin once had a dream of swimming next to someone else in her globe. The dolphin and the dream character swam together in perfect harmony, making beautiful round turns at exactly the same time. It was all so graceful and wonderful. But then, the dolphin woke up.

The cardinal bird had a dream of being able to fly from globe to globe with no problem. The cardinal also could fly very high to see all the globes far beneath him. But then, the cardinal woke up.

Unfortunately, all these feelings, thoughts, and dreams were fleeting and futile.

Chapter 3

One morning, the cardinal woke up and looked out of his globe into the store. Something blocked his view. He took a closer look.

“Chirp! Chirp!” the cardinal sounded his alarm and woke up everybody.

There was a strange globe on the table that had never been there before. It was definitely not on the table last night when they all went to sleep.

“It looks so strange,” the penguin said.

“It has no globe!” the owl declared.

They all looked closer and agreed that it indeed had no globe. They did not know that was possible.

“It’s not a Snow Globe. It’s a No Globe,” T-Rex called out.

A large angel with tall wings reaching above her head stood there on her music box. There was no snow in sight where the snow should be. There was no water where there should be a great deal of water.

The snow globe characters dropped their jaws open. They had never even dreamed that such a globe-less, snow-less, water-less thing was possible.

“Do not be afraid,” the No Globe angel said. It then moved slowly among the snow globes. They examined it closely as it scooted by.

The angel could get very close to a globe. She could reach out and touch the globe walls of others.

“Amazing!” the owl proclaimed.

Then, the angel did something that freaked out all of them. The angel scooted over in front of the T-Rex and slowly extended her right arm to touch the globe, paused for a moment, then extended her arm farther as her hand arm went through the globe wall. The angel continued to reach deeper inside until she touched the scales on the shoulder of the T-Rex.

Every snow globe character screamed in their own way. They all jumped back. T-Rex was frozen from fear. She did not know what to say. She did not know what to do. Her big jaw dropped open even more.

No one had ever shared the space inside the globe with anyone else. No one had ever reached through a solid wall.

The angel brought her hand back out to the outside of the wall. The T-Rex scooted far away from the angel while all the other snow globes scooted closer to the angel. The snow globes circled around the angel looking at every detail very closely.

“You can become free of your globes,” the angel began. “That is, if you really want to be free.”

“Are you safe?” the dolphin asked.

“I will not hurt you,” the angel answered.

“No, I mean that the globes protect us,” the dolphin continued. “You have nothing to protect you.”

“That is part of being free,” the angel said. “That is part of getting close to others. Being free means you can get hurt. Each of you will have to decide whether you really want to be free. Many of you have yearned for it, talked about it, and even dreamed about it. But now, you will have a choice. You can either become free or remain safe.”

“I don’t know,” the owl said. “I will have to think about it.”

“Being free might be worse than being lonely,” the little red bird said. “What do others think?”

“I want to be free,” the snowman began. “But my globe is really not that bad. I have gotten used to it.”

The T-Rex scooted forward toward the angel, “I am ready to be free.”

“Oh!” the other snow globes gasped at how sure and brave T-Rex was.

The angel then placed both hands against the side of T-Rex’s globe. The wall began to become thinner. It became weaker and the water pressed hard against what was left of the wall. Suddenly, the wall disappeared and the water washed over the angel and rushed past all the surrounding globes.

The T-Rex looked around. She was seeing things without the wall and water for the first time. She reached out her tiny arms and carefully extended them beyond where the wall used to be. She pulled them back quickly and then slowly extended them again reaching farther than she did the first time.

T-Rex raised her head, opened her mouth, and made a loud sound that filled the store. It wasn’t a roar. It sounded happy. It sounded relieved. It sounded surprised. It sounded like all three at once.

She leaned forward to hug the angel with her short arms. They both laughed loudly. T-Rex’s laugh was much louder than the angel’s laugh and it echoed throughout the store.

“It’s great!” T-Rex shouted. “Look at me! Look at me!”

“I don’t know,” the snowman said. “Will you feel the same way tomorrow? And the day after that? And the next day after that?”

“I would rather be free for one night,” T-Rex began, “than safe for a thousand years.”

“You say that now,” the owl said. “Let’s see what you say after some time has passed.”

“You have some time to make your decisions,” the angel said. “I will be with you for a while.”

That night, as they settled down to go to sleep, they listened to the angel’s tune from her music box. Everyone loved it. The tune was relaxing and exciting and strong and gentle all at the same time. Her tune spoke to everyone, as they all gradually fell asleep.

Chapter 4

By the next morning, most of the water from T-Rex’s globe had dried. There was so little water left on the table and floor that the store owner did not notice it. The owner also did not notice that T-Rex’s globe was gone or that a new globe-less character was there on the table.

Upon waking, the little red bird scooted close to the angel.

“I am ready,” the little bird said. “I want to be free.”

“We will wait until tonight after the store closes,” the angel replied.

During the day, the globes were still and quiet, so that the shoppers would not notice they were alive. However, on the inside, all the characters were moving around in their thoughts and feelings at high speed. They were thinking deeply about the amazing things they had seen the night before.

What would each of the characters decide to do? It was one thing to complain about your situation. It was quite another to actually change it when you have the opportunity to do so.

During the day, many shoppers came in the store. It was cold outside, so the shoppers wore heavy coats, gloves, and even scarves to protect their faces from the cold air. One shopper was carrying a couple large bags from the purchases she made in other stores. Her own handbag was also large and bulging with her personal items. She moved about the store through the fairly narrow aisles. Occasionally, she bumped something on a shelf and it would tip back and forth, almost falling off, but not quite.

This shopper walked near to the snow globe table and stopped. She reached out and picked up the Santa Claus globe, looked at it, and decided to buy it. All the characters waved goodbye to the Santa Claus and he waved back.

This shopper then suddenly turned to the left toward the wind-up toy aisle. As she turned, her large handbag bumped into the dolphin snow globe that was sitting close to the table’s edge.

The dolphin tipped far until the globe completely tipped over onto its rounded top. The globe spun around on its top. The dolphin was being tossed about as the water inside crashed into the globe wall on one side and then crashed into the other wall. All the snow was thrown up into the water making it difficult to see the dolphin inside.

The globe maintained its balance on its top for a moment and then began to fall over on its side. Before any other globe could move, the dolphin globe tipped off the edge of the table and disappeared from view. It crashed onto the floor top first and the dolphin was thrown hard into the globe’s wall.

The shopper did not even notice what she had done and moved forward into the wind-up toy aisle.

“Oh my!” the store owner cried. She raced over to the snow globe table and picked up the dolphin globe. She inspected it for damage, saw that there were no cracks or scratches on the globe, and put it back onto the table. Then, the store owner raced down the wind-up toy aisle to follow the shopper closely before she really did break something.

Even though it was day, the other globes moved over to the dolphin globe to check on his condition. The dolphin lay still on his side at the bottom of the globe. The snow covered up part of his tail and his fins.

“Dolphin! Dolphin!” the snowman called out. But the dolphin did not respond and did not move.

The characters looked back and forth at each other and then at the dolphin. Then, the snowman turned toward the angel, who was behind the group of snow globes.

“If you want to, you can heal him,” the snowman said to the angel.

“Of course, I want to,” the angel responded.

The globes moved aside to make a path for the angel. The angel moved forward and, once again, reached her right hand through the wall of the dolphin’s globe. She reached deep into the globe until she had her hand on the dolphin’s side. She kept her hand there for a while.

The others looked on with great hope.

“Dolphin, be well,” the angel said. “Arise and swim again like you love to do.”

Suddenly, the dolphin shook its powerful tail and with a second powerful shake was moving again through the water just like before.

The dolphin let out a series of joyous clicks as it moved around happily in the water. The dolphin came to the side of the globe wall and talked to the other globes.

“I was gone and now I am back,” the dolphin said. “There was nothing and now there is everything.”

The dolphin looked squarely at the angel.

“Thank you,” the dolphin said. “You have the power of life over death. I want to be free. I want to be more like you.”

The angel smiled.

“You will have to get in line behind the cardinal bird,” the angel said with a joyous laugh.

Everyone else laughed nervously. They did not really understand what had just happened. They did not understand who this angel was and where she had come from.

“But, we better become motionless again before we are seen,” the angel added.

Chapter 5

That night, after the store owner left to go home, all the characters started moving again.

The cardinal bird was the first to move and he moved close to the angel.

“Are you ready for freedom?” the angel asked.

“I am completely ready,” the little bird answered.

The angel moved extremely close to the bird’s globe and this time touched his globe with the palms of both hands. A small noise of vibration started and then became louder as the walls became thinner and thinner. Finally, the wall vanished and the water with some snow washed over the angel and off the table onto the floor.

The little bird was carried along with the rushing water and disappeared with the falling water.

The characters gasped. But, a moment later, the bird flew back up into view. The characters clapped and cheered.

The angel spit out some pieces of plastic snow from her mouth. Everyone laughed out of joy.

The little bird took off flying almost straight up and disappeared into the darkness near the ceiling. The characters looked this way and that way to try to see the bird. All of a sudden, a red streak came zooming at high speed right above the table and right above all the characters’ globes. They all ducked down inside their globes and moved their heads quickly to try to keep up with the flying red streak that was the cardinal.

The cardinal disappeared again into the darkness of the wind-up toy aisle. Occasionally, you could hear some chirps in the distance in different sections of the store. He was gone for quite a while but eventually returned and landed back on the table far from her globe-less music box.

“I saw everything that is in this store,” the cardinal said sounding out of breath. “I saw the wind-up toys and the porcelain dolls and the teddy bears and the greeting cards and the pretty blank paper and the pens of many colors and the books and the wrapping paper and the gift bags and the bows and the ribbons and the yard ornaments and the letter openers and…”

“Easy, easy,” the snowman said. “Don’t overdo it. Don’t wear yourself out in your first few minutes of freedom.”

The characters laughed as the cardinal tried to catch his breath.

“I am going out again,” the cardinal said.

“Don’t you want to see the dolphin become free?” the snowman asked.

“Sorry,” the cardinal answered. “Gotta go.”

The cardinal took off again and quickly was out of sight.

Again, everyone laughed and some shook their heads.

Chapter 6

The dolphin slowly scooted toward the angel.

“Are you too tired to help me?” the dolphin said to the angel. “I can wait for you to rest.”

“That is very thoughtful of you,” the angel replied. “But I am fine. I rested all night long last night.”

The angel moved in a circle around the dolphin’s globe thinking about the situation.

“You want to remain in the water, right?” the angel asked after looking at the globe from all sides.

“Yes,” the dolphin said. “I love swimming.”

“But you want to be able to get out of the globe when you want to?” the angel asked.

“That would be ideal,” the dolphin said. “Is that possible?”

“Oh yes,” the angel replied. “I will do something different for you.”

The angel once again got very close to the globe. Instead of touching the globe wall, she reached her right hand through the globe wall. She reached deep into the globe and placed her hand on the dolphin. She kept her hand there for some time.

“Do you feel anything?” the snowman asked.

“I feel a hotness all over my body that does not burn,” the dolphin answered. “It is very hot, but not painful.”

The angel finally removed her hand from the dolphin and then brought it back outside of the globe.

“What happens now?” T-Rex asked.

“I have given the dolphin a special power,” the angel replied. “When she wants to leave the globe, she will be able to move her body through the wall. Otherwise, she will stay in the water.”

The dolphin swam up to the wall and stopped.

“I want to leave. I want to leave,” the dolphin repeated this over and over again.

She then pressed her nose against the wall and she felt the wall give away. Her nose was moving through the globe wall. She pressed her entire head outside of the globe while her body remained inside. Not a single drop of water spilled from the globe.

“So, when you find a bigger pool of water that you want to swim in,” the angel began, “you can move through the wall into the bigger pool of water. And when you want to return, you can move back into your globe. The water in the globe will never escape.”

“Brilliant!” the owl cried out.

“You are becoming part of the New Creation,” the angel said. “You are no longer trapped inside all alone. You can get close to those on the outside.”

Chapter 7

The other characters formed a line so they could be like T-Rex, the cardinal, and even the dolphin. The angel gave them each a choice. They could be like the T-Rex and cardinal, completely without the globe. Or, they could be like the dolphin, keeping the globe wall but being able to move through it to the outside and then back to the inside.

Only the characters that naturally lived in water chose to be like the dolphin. The rest chose to live without a globe.

After a great deal of work by the angel, they were all free. They were free to get close to others. They all loved their new freedom. Yes, they were not as safe as they were with the globe wall. But, this new freedom allowed them to really live. Getting close to others was so needed for real living.

In the morning when the store owner entered the store, she saw water on the table and the floor. She looked up to see if there was a leak in the ceiling, but she did not see any.

She looked closely at the table and eventually noticed that most of the snow globes had no globes and no snow.

“Hmmm,” the store owner said. “Very interesting.”

She walked away from the table and a few minutes later returned with a sign that she attached to the table. It read “Music Boxes.” She cleaned up all the spilled water with a towel and a mop.

These were the first true Music Boxes. Before this, all music boxes were beneath a snow globe. Not any more. She moved the dolphin and the other globed swimming characters to one side of the table. She moved all the globe-less characters to the other side of the table by the new “Music Boxes” sign.

The shoppers that came in that day had never seen Music Boxes that were without a globe. The Music Boxes became very popular among the shoppers and before day’s end they were all sold.

The angel was purchased by a mother with a little boy next to her that had a weak leg and always walked with crutches. The little boy loved angels, so the angel music box was the perfect gift. As the angel was picked up by the mother, the angel winked at the dolphin who was still on the table. The dolphin knew what the angel was going to do.