thought that this was perfect for Stacy, because it was exactly what he considered her to be. She no longer wanted a relationship, but she cared enough to drop by and make sure he was still breathing. Without a second thought, he made the purchase and watched as the lady carefully wrapped it up and placed it in a box. He stuffed it in his pocket and walked out of the mall satisfied with his good deed.
All the hard work of finding the perfect gift had made him hungry, and since he almost never ate out, he decided it would be nice to swing by some fast food place for a change. Richard usually only left his house to go to the market down the street and pick up a few essentials to get him through the week. You may be wondering how, without a job, he had money to pay the rent or buy groceries? Well, besides being a penny pincher, he had inherited a large some of money from his grandfather’s passing, but it was not enough to live off of, and if he didn’t publish something soon, he would be forced to get a job; an idea he despised.
He decided on Burger King and immediately regretted it when he was done. It had turned his stomach into knots and he quickly remembered why he never ate out. Having enough adventures for the day, he headed home in a hurry, for if he did not get there soon, he was liable to make a mess of himself.
Once home, he jumped out of the car like it was on fire and made for the house like he was walking on hot coals. He made it to the bathroom in the nick of time and told himself that he would never again purchase a grease burger from the king. Even though he felt relieved, he still did not feel well. He walked to the bedroom and plopped down on the mattress fully clothed. His bedside clock read 5:00 p.m. as he drifted into dreamland.
4
He woke up early Christmas morning before the sun was up and was surprised he had slept so long. It was already six in the morning. He had slept over twelve hours without so much as a stir. This was a sign that maybe he had been pushing himself a little too hard lately and forgotten the importance of sleep. He sat up and slipped off his coat, peeled off his sweat-soaked shirt, dropped his jeans and replaced them with cozy pajama pants. He went to the bathroom and splashed cold water over his face and brushed his teeth. He had two things in mind; start a pot of coffee, and get to work on that treacherous book.
As he made for the kitchen, he spotted the globe on his dining room table. In his hurry coming in the night before, he had forgotten all about the thing. He remembered thinking he saw something moving inside and chalked it up to the fact that he really needed that twelve hour nap. He planned on packing it up and sticking it with the others as soon as the coffee was brewing.
Before sticking it back in the Styrofoam block, he decided he would give it one more shake for the heck of it, but when the flurries of snow settled, he stumbled backward and almost dropped it. Everything inside the globe was moving and in full action. A little elf was shoveling his driveway. Cars raced around the little village in a hurry to get somewhere. Little kids were having a snowball fight. Richard was absolutely stunned. One of the little elves seemed angry and was shaking a fist at him. He had to look away. He wasn’t seeing this. They had to have some new technology at the snow globe factory to make it appear alive.
Still refusing to believe what he had seen, he shook the globe once again and a bright white flash filled his apartment like he was standing in the middle of a lightning bolt. The white turned to black and Richard knew no more. He passed out.
5
“Hey you…Hey dumb-dumb. Are you trying to catch a cold or something?”
Richard opened his eyes and was surprised that he was no longer in his apartment. Above him was a clear blue sky with a few flakes drifting down toward his face. He felt numb and cold…and was someone talking to him, or did he dream that?
The voice came again. “Fine, if you want to be a Popsicle that’s your choice.”
Richard sat up and was astonished to see a tiny elf walking away. He looked down at himself and understood why he felt so cold. He was wearing nothing but pajama pants and sitting in a snow bank. He shook his head and called out to the elf, “Hey, what’s going on? Where am I?”
The elf turned around and came back and stood before Richard with a scowl on his face. They were looking eye to eye even though Richard was still sitting. He looked over the elf’s green coat and pants, and his scruffy black beard and pointed ears. He rubbed his eyes with the balls of his fists. The elf still stood before him with his tiny hands on his hips.
“Oh, so now you want to chat? I’ve been trying to wake you for a lifetime. You know, I got better things to do than try to help someone who doesn’t have enough sense put on some clothing before taking a nap in the snow.” The elf crossed his arms on his chest and grunted.
“Honestly, I don’t know how I got here?” Richard said and pried himself out of the snow. He towered over the elf and this didn’t seem to make the little man any happier.
“Well, if you don’t know where you are, maybe you should lay off of that special eggnog!”
Richard ignored this last comment and looked around him. He was in the middle of some strange town; a town that was very much in the spirit of Christmas by the looks of it. Every house was strung with twinkling lights and perfect ice cycles drooped from the gutters. The small people that walked the streets shouted out, “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” as they passed each other. At the edge of the street he saw a building with a sign reading, “Santa’s workshop” and it hit him.
“No, it can’t be.” He said aloud. “Am I really in the globe?”
“Look mister, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m running out of patience. Do you want to go warm up or not?”
Richard snapped back to the fact that he was indeed frozen to the bone. His poor feet would likely fall off from frostbite if he didn’t get them out of the cold snow fast. He nodded yes and followed the elf as he marched across the street. They came to a small hut, and without turning to see if Richard was still following, the elf marched inside. Richard had to duck to get through the doorway, and once inside, he had less than an inch of breathing room from the top of his head to the ceiling. As he made his way to where the elf was heading, he had to dodge light fixtures and ceiling fans. They ended up in a tiny living area and Richard didn’t dare to sit on the sofa or chairs for fear of breaking them. He settled for sitting Indian style on the floor. A lady elf walked in and was startled.
“My goodness, I didn’t know we had company.” She scurried to the kitchen for some hot cocoa.
“My name’s Orin and that’s my wife Olivia.” The elf said. “Obviously I don’t have clothes that will fit you, so you’ll have to settle for a blanket until we figure out something.”
“I’m very grateful. Thank you for your hospitality.” Richard said, still not believing he was really in an elf house inside a snow globe. He was waiting to wake up in his apartment at any moment, but pinching, rubbing his eyes, and shaking his head would not wake him so far.
Olivia returned with a tray of two cups of cocoa. Even though the drink was steaming, Richard could not drink it fast enough. He was grateful for the warmth it provided and thankful for the feeling in his toes and fingers again. Orin sat in a rocking chair scowling at him.
“Pay no attention to him.” Olivia said. “He’s always crabby with new comers, especially those of your kind.”
“Of my kind?”
“Yes, Tall folk. We don’t see much of your kind around, except for Mr. and Mrs. Clause, of course.”
“I could have left him to freeze to death in a snow bank.” Orin piped in.
Olivia smiled and excused herself. Richard looked at the grumpy elf and decided that maybe he wasn’t welcome after all.
“Maybe I should just go, but I thank you all the same.” Richard began to get up.
“Nonsense.” Orin barked. “I didn’t rouse you out of the snow to have you walk out on me. I’m curious to know where you came from.”
Richard didn’t kno
w how to answer this? How was he going to explain that they were inside a little glass ball that was in his apartment? He didn’t believe it himself. How was he going to make Orin believe it? He was trying to think of a way to explain himself without angering the elf anymore than he already had. He scanned the room and thought hard about what to say while admiring the tree that stood in the corner. Every limb was stuffed with garland and every hole was filled with a bright shiny bulb. The lights were twinkling red, green, blue, and yellow. He was about to make a foolish attempt at explaining himself when Olivia returned and saved him.
“I thought you might like something to nibble on.” She set a tray full of cookies and little frosted cakes in front of Richard. He greedily snatched two cookies up and shoved them in his mouth. All the excitement had made him very hungry indeed.
“Orin, why don’t you quit sitting there like a bump on a log and take this man to get some clothes?” Olivia stood firm with her hands on her hips.
“He’s a big boy.” Orin argued.
“Orin!” Olivia scolded.