Chapter 1: The Snow Globe’s Call
“The snow globe shouldn’t have been mine, but maybe it was meant to be.”
It was one of those days where the air seemed heavy with the possibility of something strange. I was walking home from work, feeling the weight of my usual regrets, when I saw the street vendor. His stall was cluttered with all kinds of trinkets—old postcards, rusty keys, tiny glass animals. It looked like the sort of place you’d find treasures if you believed in that kind of thing. And for some reason, I stopped.
“Can I help you?” The vendor’s voice was gruff but not unfriendly. His eyes, however, glinted with something else. Curiosity? Knowing?
“I’m just looking,” I mumbled, running my fingers over the odd collection of items. Then, my hand paused on something cold and smooth. A small snow globe, perfectly round and delicate, with a scene of a little town trapped inside. I held it up, watching the tiny white flakes swirl around a miniature clock tower.
“How much for this?” I asked.
The vendor studied me for a moment before saying, “It’s not for sale. But I think you need it.”
I blinked. “What? Why would I need a snow globe?”
His smile was slow, almost secretive. “That’s no ordinary snow globe, miss. It has… potential.”
I should have walked away. Should have laughed it off as a silly joke. But instead, I paid the man a few crumpled bills, took the snow globe, and walked home. Something inside me was buzzing, a nervous energy I couldn’t quite shake.
I didn’t realize it then, but that small decision—stopping at that stall, picking up that snow globe—was the start of everything.
That night, I sat in my small, dimly lit apartment, the snow globe on the coffee table in front of me. I had no idea why I felt so drawn to it, but I couldn’t look away. I had been feeling stuck lately—like I was trapped in my own life, unable to move forward. Maybe that’s why the idea of a little town, frozen in time, resonated with me.
I picked up the globe, feeling its cool weight in my hands, and gave it a shake. The snow swirled wildly inside, faster than I thought possible. The flakes moved like they were alive, not like the slow drift I had expected. And then the world around me shifted.
The room seemed to fade, the edges of reality softening like a dream. The last thing I saw before everything went dark was the clock tower inside the globe, its hands moving backward, faster and faster.
***
When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in my apartment anymore.
I was outside, standing in a square, surrounded by tall stone buildings. The air smelled different—cleaner, richer. My heart pounded as I looked around, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. People in elaborate gowns and tunics walked past me, their shoes clattering on the cobblestone streets. A marketplace buzzed with the sound of merchants calling out their wares, the scent of fresh bread and herbs hanging in the air.
I spun around, trying to orient myself. How was this possible? Where was I?
“You’re not from here, are you?” A woman’s voice, soft and warm, cut through my panic.
I turned to see a woman in her twenties, dressed in a simple but elegant gown, her dark hair pinned up with a few stray curls falling loose around her face. She was beautiful in a classic way, but her expression was one of kindness, not arrogance.
“I—I don’t know where I am,” I admitted, my voice shaky. “I think something’s gone wrong. I was just at home, and now—”
She smiled gently. “You’re in Florence. And you look very lost.”
“Florence?” I whispered. It didn’t make sense. How could I be in Florence?
She extended her hand. “My name is Giulietta. You’re not the first person to get a little… turned around here. Come with me, and I’ll help you.”
I hesitated, but what choice did I have? I took her hand, and she led me through the busy square, past stalls overflowing with fruit and flowers, past men in long robes discussing art and philosophy, past a fountain where children laughed as they splashed in the water. I could hardly keep up with all the sights and sounds around me.
My mind was spinning. Was I dreaming? Had I gone mad?
Giulietta must have sensed my unease. “Don’t worry,” she said softly. “You’ll get used to it. Florence is a city of wonders, after all.”
We stopped in front of a small shop, the scent of fresh bread wafting from its open door. “Let’s sit for a moment,” she said. “You look like you need to catch your breath.”
As we sat down at a wooden table, Giulietta leaned in closer. “So, tell me—how did you end up here?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could, a sudden hush fell over the marketplace. People turned to look at something—or someone—approaching.
And that’s when I saw him.
He walked through the square with an effortless grace, tall and handsome, with dark hair that fell just above his shoulders. His clothing was finer than the others—a long, embroidered coat that spoke of wealth and status. But it wasn’t his clothes that caught my attention. It was his eyes.
They locked onto mine, and for a moment, the rest of the world disappeared. There was something familiar about him, something that stirred something deep inside me. I couldn’t explain it, but it was as if I had known him before, in another life.
Giulietta followed my gaze and smiled knowingly. “That’s Lorenzo,” she said in a whisper. “He’s one of Florence’s most eligible bachelors. But he’s also… well, let’s just say he has secrets.”
As Lorenzo passed by, his eyes lingered on me for a second longer than necessary. Then he was gone, swallowed up by the crowd.
I felt my heart pounding in my chest, and a strange sense of anticipation filled me. Who was this man? And why did it feel like I was meant to meet him?
Before I could ask Giulietta more, the sky began to darken, and the wind picked up, swirling around us. The air seemed to crackle with energy, and I felt a strange pull, like the universe itself was shifting.
The snow globe, I thought suddenly. This is because of the snow globe.
I stood abruptly, panic rising in my throat. “I have to go,” I said, my voice trembling. “I need to figure out what’s happening.”
Giulietta looked at me with a mix of concern and understanding. “Be careful,” she said softly. “Florence is a city of wonders, but it’s also a city of dangers.”
I nodded, though I wasn’t sure what kind of danger she meant. As I turned to leave, my eyes caught sight of Lorenzo again, standing at the edge of the square, watching me.
And in that moment, I knew—this was only the beginning.
***
As the wind whipped around me and the marketplace seemed to blur, I felt the ground shift beneath my feet. And just like that, the world disappeared once more, leaving me wondering where—or when—I would end up next.