Tales of a life I’ve never lived: The carousel in the snow globe

I stopped in front of a shop I had never seen before. The window was dark and revealed nothing of the interior. A hand painted sign hung in the door declared the shop open, so I went in. I was hit with a wave of spicy exotic incense. It was heady and alluring. The bells on the door jingled behind me and I was wrapped in the low light of the shop.

The shop was piled with all sorts of curious things all heaped together in a way I couldn’t make sense of. I wound my way through stacks of books and shelves of tea pots taking delight in each new sight. Near the back of the store an old woman with leathery brown skin leaned against the sales counter.

“You can only buy one thing. Choose carefully.” She said and disappeared behind a beaded curtain.

Left alone I continued to wander through the shop. I was amazed at how much stuff they seemed to have. It didn’t appear to be this big from the outside. I passed a Persian rug that seemed to ripple in an unseen breeze and past a table displaying an assortment of candlesticks. The old woman’s words kept circling around my mind.

What did she mean by it? Why would a shop limit the number of things you could buy? With so much to choose from, how could a person choose just one? The questions buzzed around my head like an angry swarm. I was deep into the shop. I could no longer see the front door or the sales counter. The dim yellow over head lights did little to brighten the shelves of goods.

Something to my left glinted and I turned trying to catch sight of the spark again. Tucked into the corner of an old cabinet was a snow globe. I reached in and pulled it out, careful not to catch my shirt sleeve on the other items. The globe was covered in dust and I wondered how it had managed to glint in the light at all.

I swiped my thumb across the glass dome and got my first peak at what lay inside. It held glitter instead of snow and a tiny carousel. I used the inside of my shirt to clear way the rest of the dust. I was struck by the detail and the beauty of it. I shook it and watch the glitter float and swirl around the tiny animals. Flipping it over to look for the price tag I notice a small knob. This snow globe also played music. I wondered if the carousel would spin.

I grasped the little knob ready to wind it up, but hesitated. I suddenly felt like someone was watching me. A small sign hung from the cabinet door. It read Wind At Your Own Risk. Had that been there before? I couldn’t be sure.  I pressed the globe to my chest, the fear of someone taking it rushed through me. I knew this was the one thing I had to buy. I needed to get it safely home before someone else found it. I hurried back through the store weaving my way up to the sales counter.

A young woman was waiting there. She smiled sweetly as she rang up my purchase and carefully wrapped it in tissue. I was excited and near panic as I ran from the little shop. I didn’t stop running until I was all the way home.  I grabbed a cleaning rag from the kitchen and sat down at the table with the snow globe.

I gently polished it until it gleamed. It was more beautiful than I had first thought. The carousel was painted with bright colors accented with gold. The tiny animals looked as if they were straining against their harnesses, waiting to burst into motion. A brief moment of caution flashed through me along with the image of the warning sign from the shop.

I was too curious to let that stop me from winding the carousel. What risk could there be? I slowly wound it up and let it play. The soft tinkling of circus music filled the kitchen and the carousel began to turn. The animals floated up and down on their golden poles and the children riding them held up their hands to wave.

I was entranced. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the joyous scene. I could swear I heard the children laughing. I gave the globe a shake to make the glitter swirl and the kitchen suddenly tilted. I was on the floor staring into the globe. How did I get on the floor? I couldn’t remember. I could only think of the carousel and the happy children.

I sat up and picked up the globe. The glitter settled, but the carousel still turned. It seemed to be spinning faster and faster. The children were no longer waving but clinging to the animals. How was that possible? There was one animal without a rider that I was sure hadn’t been there before. I turned the globe around so I could keep my eye on it. It was a black horse with a gleaming blue black main. It looked back at me.

I dropped the globe and it rolled across the floor. The music came to an end and I just stared at the globe. I was afraid to touch it, afraid I might be losing my mind. A choking laugh escaped me. I reached out and grabbed the globe. There was nothing strange or scary about it. The little children waved happily again.  I spun it around searching for the rider less black horse.

He was still there, wedged between and elephant and a lion. He tilted his head and winked at me. I shoved the globe back into the bag and ran back to the little shop. I burst through the door startling the girl at the sales counter and receiving glares from the other shoppers.

“I want to return this. There is something wrong with it.”

“Is it broken?” She asked examining the globe.

“No, it seems to work perfectly, but there is something strange about it.”

“You were told to choose carefully?”

“Yes, but the black horse winked at me.”

“I see. We have a strict no return or refund policy.” She pointed at the sign behind her.

“Did you hear what I said? The horse winked at me!”

“I’m sorry, there is nothing I can do for you. I’ll have to ask you to leave the store now.” Her voice was calm and even.

I snatched up the globe and turned to leave. The other shoppers were staring at me like I was a lunatic. Maybe I was. Outside the sky had turned a dull gray and the wind whipped my hair into a frenzy. The globe felt like a lead weight in my hand. Rain began to fall as I reached my front door. I stood on the steps for a moment allowing the warm rain to soak into me.

I sloshed inside and set the globe on the hall table. The warmth from the rain quickly faded and left me feeling chilled. At least I told myself it was only from the rain. I ran a hot bath and poured in my favorite bubble bath. The thick heady scent of vanilla and ylang ylang filled the air. I slide down into the steaming water and let it work its magic.

I stayed in the bath until the water cooled and the bubbles faded. I dressed in my warmest fuzziest jammies, still unable to shake the earlier chill. The globe was sitting where I left it. It looked harmless sitting there next to my keys. I began to wonder if I had imagined everything that had happened before. There was only one way to find out. I would have to wind it again.

I carried it into the kitchen and let it set on the table while I fixed myself a sandwich. I kept glancing at it from the corner of my eye waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. I watched it while I ate and still nothing strange or unusual happened. The black horse didn’t wink at me. I began to think I had dreamed the previous events.

With fresh determination I grabbed up the snow globe and gave it a firm winding. The music played and the carousel sprang to life. I watched with wonder and amazement as the life like animals spun by. The black horse passed by once and then twice without winking. I laughed at how silly I had been and imagined how fun it would be to ride the black horse on the carousel.

Suddenly the room swirled and I was on the black horse. Glitter whipped passed me stinging my cheeks. I couldn’t get off the horse. The circus music berated my ears. I stared out in panic as I watch the view of my kitchen spin by.

“We tried to warn you.” Said the little girl on the elephant.

“You’ll be trapped here forever.” Said the boy on the lion.

Around and around we went. I lost all track of time. Once I saw my neighbor wonder through my kitchen calling out to me. Then later my best friend came and I watched her cry and box up my things. The snow globe was dumped into one of those boxes.

The last thing I remember is looking out and seeing the old woman from the shop. She smiled toothlessly down at me.

“I told you to choose carefully.” She said and placed the snow globe back in the cabinet where I had found it.

Photo from Flicker by aillama

This story is part of a series of short stories I am working on. I hope you enjoy them. To read more about the short story project: Tales of a life I’ve never lived Click Here.