copyright Managua Gunn
The Land of Eternal Summer Snow
Frederick braced himself as a giant hand appeared, blocking out the sun. A moment later, the earth convulsed and began careening back and forth. He clenched his teeth and thought of his training.
Not a twitch. Duty came first.
The world became calm again and a moment later, the snow began to fall—table-sized flakes that floated lazily down, blanketing the landscape. The shadow above moved away.
* * *
“I don’t know,” the boy said. “I’m not really into the European scene.”
“Well, we have Chinese, ancient Roman, even extraterrestrials!” the salesman said. “Here at Sentient Snow Globes, the customer is king.”
The Green-Walled Tower 
June 19th, 2013 at 6:04 pm
Dear David,
Table size flakes? I want one of those snow globes. 😉 Smiling.
Shalom,
Rochelle
June 19th, 2013 at 6:08 pm
Well, from the perspective of the guy inside it, they’re that big. 🙂
June 19th, 2013 at 6:08 pm
that’s a chaotic world!
June 19th, 2013 at 6:09 pm
It would be. It’d be hard to get anything done with people shaking up your world every so often.
June 19th, 2013 at 6:29 pm
I know! have you seen the cartoon movie “Sinbad”? I loved Chaos of that movie, I mean the goddess 🙂
June 19th, 2013 at 6:14 pm
Table sized flakes? More like table sized blankets floating down – great imagination here. Enjoyed the read.
June 19th, 2013 at 6:27 pm
Excellent point of view! He does seem a bit stuck in his enclosed world, doesn’t he?
June 19th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Yes, not much you can do when you live under a glass dome.
June 19th, 2013 at 6:31 pm
That is brilliant! Really is….one of your your finest, for sure. I have a lot of catching up to do but meanwhile really, this was so clever.
June 19th, 2013 at 6:34 pm
Thank you kindly, Sir Pirate. Great picture you provided us with.
June 19th, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Just read it again – absolutely outstanding. It really makes one think,philosophically.
June 19th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
What a delightful story David. Frederick is a brave man I must say. Table-sized snowflakes would definitely freak me out! 😀
June 19th, 2013 at 7:02 pm
Oh brilliant!!!
June 19th, 2013 at 7:16 pm
You took me in one direction only to have me walk into a brick wall, where the rest of the action was taking place on the other side. That was one brilliant take on the prompt, David.
June 19th, 2013 at 7:21 pm
Thank you so much. 🙂
June 19th, 2013 at 9:36 pm
Excellent! Such an unexpected take on the prompt.
June 19th, 2013 at 9:40 pm
brilliant imagination. loved this. 🙂
June 20th, 2013 at 11:26 am
Thanks! 🙂
June 19th, 2013 at 10:47 pm
Whaaa…??? Ahhh…I get it. So novel. I really would love to get my hands on whatever creative vitamins you are taking!
June 20th, 2013 at 11:26 am
🙂 Must be the kimchi I eat every day.
June 19th, 2013 at 11:00 pm
David, I don’t know how you think of these things. Very imaginative! Loved it. Great writing.
June 20th, 2013 at 10:35 am
Thanks, Amy. Not sure where the ideas come from either.
June 19th, 2013 at 11:55 pm
I’ve always wanted a snow globe, but now I’m not so sure. I’d empathize too much with the little figurines inside it.
June 20th, 2013 at 10:33 am
There could be a group that buys the globes and sets the people inside free.
June 20th, 2013 at 12:11 am
This was so great! Love how even in the snowglobe world, the soldier remembers duty first.
June 20th, 2013 at 10:31 am
I think I’d be running inside and hiding whenever the giant hand came over.
June 20th, 2013 at 1:45 pm
I would too!
June 20th, 2013 at 12:59 am
I’ve heard of rocking someone’s world, but I didn’t imagine it would be like this. 🙂 Way to think creatively outside the box…no, the globe. Does that make it global thinking? No matter, you hit it out of the park again.
janet
June 20th, 2013 at 10:30 am
Maybe it’s made so that “Rock you like a Hurricane” plays everytime you shake it. 🙂
June 20th, 2013 at 1:45 am
Men In Black’s locker phenomenon went through my head. Wonder if the salesman related his globe’s shaking to Earthquakes, or if the soldier in question owned a snow globe himself!
June 20th, 2013 at 10:29 am
It is a bit like that last scene in Men in Black, worlds within worlds. That would be quite a trip: the man in the snow globe owns another snow globe himself, and so on.
June 20th, 2013 at 1:55 am
I loved everything about this. So imaginative and so well written! The ending was perfect! 😀
June 20th, 2013 at 10:28 am
Wow, thank you. 🙂
June 20th, 2013 at 3:11 am
A really good one–clever, punchy and well-written.
June 20th, 2013 at 4:13 am
Gotta hand it to you, Dave. I LIKE that idea! Solid ending and FUNNY, too!
June 20th, 2013 at 10:27 am
Thanks. I wanted to do a lighter one after so many weeks of Peregrine and his drama.
June 20th, 2013 at 4:49 am
Sounds like you have actually depicted Swedish summer.. 🙂 we sleep under those snowflakes actually.
June 20th, 2013 at 8:38 am
Yep. I should have tagged this story as non-fiction. 🙂
June 20th, 2013 at 7:47 am
Sentient Snow Globes where the snow is table size ?- I’d like one please
June 20th, 2013 at 7:57 am
Love this!
June 20th, 2013 at 11:29 am
Wonderfully creative!
June 20th, 2013 at 2:49 pm
How wonderful and imaginative, love it!
June 20th, 2013 at 3:17 pm
What a great idea David. Sentient Snow Globes! Love it.
June 20th, 2013 at 8:31 pm
Love this! Love this!!
June 20th, 2013 at 11:54 pm
🙂 Thank you~
June 20th, 2013 at 9:54 pm
Great! Totally faked me out.
June 20th, 2013 at 11:48 pm
🙂 I was wondering how many people would get what was going on halfway through. You know how it is: it seems so obvious when you’re writing it but not at all when you’re reading someone else’s work.
June 20th, 2013 at 11:16 pm
Very nice twist, darling. Very original.
June 20th, 2013 at 11:47 pm
Thank you, dear. 🙂
June 21st, 2013 at 1:18 am
This is a delight. I had a snow globe once…but either it leaked or the water evaporated. I just watched a show where this gal was in some type of a yard sale and found an older snow globe – though I can’t place what was in it.
June 21st, 2013 at 6:54 pm
Thank you. There is something kind of magical about them. I wonder who made the first snow globe. Something to research, I guess.
June 21st, 2013 at 9:16 pm
I think I watched some home decorating show where this family or person had over 150 snow globes.
June 21st, 2013 at 9:22 pm
That must be quite pretty. I’m sure it’s amazing looking if an earthquake shakes them all at once.
June 21st, 2013 at 9:29 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_globe
Hope this helps. 🙂
I just put in ‘history of snowglobes’
June 21st, 2013 at 6:04 am
That was sneaky Dave! I was thinking maybe hand of God. A brilliant piece.
June 21st, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Thanks, Joe. It would probably look like that to them.
June 21st, 2013 at 6:31 am
I liked that piece very much. And as a snow globe artisan, I can related more than you know.
June 21st, 2013 at 6:51 pm
Wow, that would be a very interesting type of craft to do.
June 22nd, 2013 at 5:18 am
The possibilities are endless. I have a wordpress blog if you want to check them out. 🙂
I agree with your earlier comment: there is something magical about snow globes. And one of the earliest made was to recognize the opening of the Eiffel Tower, so they are known to have existed around 1889.
June 21st, 2013 at 9:26 am
Sentient Snow Globes? What a hoot, I didn’t expect that punchline until I went back and re-read it of course. :).
June 21st, 2013 at 9:48 am
Wow. What a great piece – great imagination! Randy
June 21st, 2013 at 7:50 pm
Outstanding piece, David. One of the best I’ve read in a long, long, time. What a great perspective.
June 21st, 2013 at 8:03 pm
Wow, thank you so much, Russell. I’m glad you liked it.
June 21st, 2013 at 8:51 pm
Fantastic take on the photo, but what a horrible ‘life’ for the guard…does he never get a break? Or is he only sentient when the snowglobe is activated? I hope it’s the latter.
June 21st, 2013 at 8:54 pm
Ah, the implications of such a thing. 🙂 I leave it up to you, since you’re sure to be more merciful.
June 22nd, 2013 at 11:02 pm
Very clever. I shall take a good hard look at the next snow globe I come across.
June 23rd, 2013 at 10:59 am
If anyone is moving in there, handle with care.
June 23rd, 2013 at 4:13 am
LOL. Great idea for a story – such a dedicated soldier – and love the title.
June 23rd, 2013 at 5:41 am
Ingenious work David!……..You’re creative mind is very unique…:)
June 23rd, 2013 at 1:48 pm
wow a brilliant take on the prompt David.. excellent 🙂
June 23rd, 2013 at 5:47 pm
I loved this take on the prompt David, brilliant.
Dee
June 26th, 2013 at 5:51 pm
Dear David,
Your imaginative story captured the feel of the prompt perfectly. One of my favorites this week.
Aloha,
Doug