My Tiny Glass Prison

Olivia gazed into the snow globe and spent a few minutes watching the tiny flakes slowly float to the bottom of their glass prison. It was easy to become lost in this seemingly perfect world, the princess sat upon her saddle, led by a handsome prince with a smug smile. The only imperfections in this fantasyland were the broken rose bushes on the left hand side, just at the horse’s feet. Alice had dropped the globe a few years back, it bounced and made its landing at the bottom of the first flight of stairs, hitting the corner of the panelling before finally laying to rest. Ever since, two roses and some bits of leaves floated around the globe, acting as heavy and clumsy dance partners for the elegant white flakes. It always unnerved Olivia that each year, more flakes had become discoloured, making the snow look as if they were Autumn leaves. She saw it as her own little sand timer, aging and and becoming less beautiful as the years went by, just as was Olivia. This snow globe would eventually become a desert; filled with sandy flakes, the smug smile fading and the princess’s face becoming scratched with time.

Alice always stayed the same; she was porcelain perfection with ruby red lips and candyfloss cheeks, her blonde flowing ringlets just skimming the bottom of her back. Alice was pretty quiet, she never seemed to have much to say and Olivia often wondered if she just relied on her looks to get her places rather than develop a personality. It wasn’t that she was boring; she just never really made much of an effort with people and had always been part of a very privileged household. People always said Olivia wasn’t talking sense and this was why she was on her own. The thing is, she hadn’t always been, and Alice had been there until she was taken away that summer. She was probably sitting in another room right at this very moment, smiling sweetly and not saying anything. It had been difficult for Olivia trying to convince friends and family that Alice wasn’t very pleasant; she caused trouble and would keep Olivia awake at night with her constant whispering. These nighttime episodes were the only time she spoke and when her sinister side would appear, Olivia spent many a night, staring at her snow globe wishing the noise would stop and that Alice would leave her alone but even the perfect glass world couldn’t save her.

As the whispering got louder the globe fell, rolling out of the bedroom down two flights of stairs. Olivia ran desperately after it, wincing with each bounce of the stairs. Alice as always stayed perfectly still, her ruby lips showed no emotion, her eyes glassy and blank. That summer Olivia was taken away to a larger house, one with many rooms and many people but it was cold and lifeless and the whispers at night had turned to screams. Lying on her bed, Olivia gazed once again within the globe, eyeing the tiny imperfections. This fairytale place had once been perfect but was now tarnished forever, this globe now acting as a mirror to Olivia’s new life.

As the years passed, Olivia grew old and tired and had few visitors. Alice visited her in dreams with her blank stare and cold, shiny skin. She can still be found to this day, sat quietly, her blonde spirals barely touched, the lipstick still rigidly in place and the pink cheeks unmoved. Alice sits as the seasons pass in a shop window, staring at the passers by. She tries to whisper but they don’t hear her, only stopping to look briefly at her beautiful, timeless face. It is difficult to get the attention of others when she is, after all, only a doll.