A few more steps and my legs officially gave out. I fell down hard onto the crunchy snowbank by the side of the road I was following and broke my fall with my thin cotton gloves, instantly felt moisture take them over.

Trying to catch my breath, I rolled onto my back and looked up at the cloudy, white of the sky. I just lied there and watched the snow fall for a few moments before something caught my eye.

Drifting lazily across the sky I could see a giant, pinkish/pale, rounded figure soar across the sky like a plane. It took a few moments to fully focus in, but further review seemed it looked to be a giant finger, nail, hair and all. I kept watching the thing until it stopped high above me in the clouds.

The entire world seemed to shake. Like an earthquake I felt on a trip to Disneyland once. The world shuddered and then stopped again. My eyes glued to the sky the whole time, I watched that giant finger slip away as soon as things got still again.

Through my glossy gaze, I watched the sky then fill with faces which took up the entire horizon. Two very familiar faces. Those of my mom and step-dad. I watched their brows furrow with concern before everything went black.

I heard the phrase “cabin fever” come out of my step-dad’s mouth before I even open my eyes.

The first thing I saw once I opened my eyes was my step-dad shaking his head as he examined my face attentively, the way a doctor would.

“She’s up,” he announced gleefully across the living room to my mom who was pacing over by the tree.

“What happened?” I asked with a cloudy head, feeling like Dorothy at the end of The Wizard of Oz.

A smile spread across my step-dad’s face. He seemed genuinely proud that he rescued me. I felt horrible that I acted on what I believed were lies the snow globe shared with me.