Holiday G/T Stories:
Snow Globe
Masen gazed at the tiny glass ball settled on his desk. It glittered cheerfully, the vibrant, multicolored string light from the nearby Christmas tree.
He gently clutched the small sphere, shaking it up a bit. Flurries of too-shiny snow drifted lazily around in the glass, and he grinned. It was mesmerizing, watching the tiny whirlwind of snow spin around. The glass was cool and heavy in his hands, and he sighed happily.
The small plastic figures in the globe stayed motionless, devoid of any life. Their mouths open in frozen happiness.
One tiny child, bundled up in a stiff scarf, sat atop his matchstick sled, forever sliding down a shimmery, slick hill.
Masen set the snow globe back down, gazing down at it fondly. It had been a gift from his late grandfather, made by his own hand. He still remembered how wondrous it had seemed when he was only twelve; like a tiny, perfect wintery world, locked away behind those thick shells of glass.
He stood up from the desk, finger gently tracing the empty engraving on the base. His grandfather had said that there had once been a gemstone in that empty wood divot. Masen remembered when he'd received the small glass ornament.
"Oh, if only I'd found it in time," His grandfather had enthused, gently unwrapping the smooth gift wrap from the snow globe and handing it to Masen. "Now, it's not that special."
"But it's perfect!" Masen had protested, wrapping his fingers around the object and hugging it close. "You made it, so it's special! To me!"
His grandfather had smiled, but had said nothing more.
Masen looked back on the moment with a small smile on his lips. Living in the same house, with nothing ever changing, tended to draw boredom out like moths to a flame. He usually entertained himself, drawing, and playing the old, dusty, rickety piano in the living room. And when he found those boring, he'd simply lie in bed and think of all his fun, exciting childhood memories.
He took one more hesitant glance at the dreamy snow globe before walking out of his bedroom and letting the door swing close with a gentle click.
...
Winter cleanup, as it was, came to every household eventually. And Masen, despite only living with one other person, wasn't spared from that fate.
"Go clean up your room," Gus, his landlord, called down the hallway, over the loud roar of the vacuum cleaner, "Or I'll drag you over here and lock you in the closet!"
Masen grinned, and pulled out the dusty, hairy broom. "Sure thing, man!" He shouted back, and entered his room, where the small Christmas tree sat, its lights illuminating the snow globe on his desk once again.
He breezed passed it, opening the closet. It was the messiest part of his room - not that any part of his room was different, due to his disorganized nature.
He rummaged through the clothes and other messy, out of place items. He found a shoebox full of tiny stuffed animals from his childhood, worn-out and dirty. Another bag was filled with his Christmas sweaters that his stepmother bought for him (that he had inevitably forgotten about). A small pile of clothes were pushed aside, revealing a new, untouched pair of shoes.
