Here is a short story I wrote for fun.

Would you live for a single moment? Would you die for it, if it meant the world to you? Alanna’s world was a very small one and she had it all to herself. Except for Lumi, her little dog. Her entire life, all she could remember was snow. Her world was covered with a blanket of snow, relentless and unforgiving.

Alanna lived in this world all on her own, no parents or friends to give her company in the heart of a never-ending blizzard. Lumi was the only friend she ever had, she had always been there when the snow froze over her heart. In her heart she knew she would never be free of her home.

Alanna trudged through the thick snow with her arms wrapped tightly around her chest to keep what warmth she had inside her. Lumi pranced around in the snow leaving little footprints behind. The duo headed towards the little cabin that was nestled safely in the forest. Alanna let her breathe out in white clouds as she laughed at her dog’s antics as she tried to catch a lone butterfly that fluttered always just out of reach of the dog. She bent down grabbing the defeated dog and looked up at their home. The house was made from logs and was very simple. Two windows and a faded red door looked out from the front of the house. In the windowsills sat little figurines carved out of wood. Alanna reached out uncurling her frozen fingers and opened the door with an audible protest of creaks.
Warmth wrapped around Alanna and Lumi as their home welcomed them back. Alanna tapped her shoes together as snow fell off them and dropped Lumi. She hit the ground running, heading straight for the kitchen. Alanna watched her go, and let one last puff of cold air out looking at her home. Straight ahead of her was the kitchen that had a little wooden table and cabinets full of all kinds of food that Alanna had found or learned to make from what the forest gave her. Lumi’s water and food bowls sat right next to Alanna’s chair. The only other room in the house was her room, which contained a bed that laid on the ground, a desk, and a window above her mattress.

Alanna walked softly across the wooden floors into the kitchen where Lumi was pushing around an empty food dish with her nose. She looked up expectantly towards Alanna as she slowly walked into the kitchen. Lumi saw the drag in Alanna’s feet and run up to her. Lumi jumped up putting her little front legs on Alanna’s thighs as Alanna bent down and picked up the dog. Alanna sat down heavily into the chair with Lumi. Alanna looked out the window as the snow beat against it and sighed. She rubbed behind Lumi’s ears and looked on longingly. The butterfly flew into the window and flapped insistently as it looked for safety. Alanna watched it and began to cry. She cried silently since there was no one to listen to her. Her shoulders shook with sadness as she watched the creature that she envied so much die in the snow. Lumi looked up at her and cocked her head in confusion.

“Oh Lumi, all I ever wanted was to fly. If I could fly I could leave this wretched place. We could be free forever of this snow and this emptiness. But look even the butterfly is trapped here, destined to die without friends or family.”

Alanna rubbed away her tears and stood sadly. With heavy shoulders she walked to her room and lay down on her bed. She wrapped herself up in a blanket and looked at Lumi and smiled.

“I’ll find a way to fly. We’ll be free together, I won’t give up I promise.”

She closed her eyes and fell asleep as a lone tear fell down onto Lumi’s snout. Lumi looked at        Alanna and crawled into the bed snuggling in close.

Alanna stood outside of the cabin looking at clear blue sky. She opened her arms up to the sun and a smile spread across her face. The wind tousled her long hair and blew strands into her eyes. The trees swayed around her and she opened up her beautiful wings towards the sky. She pushed off the snow-covered ground and was free. She swooped down over the treetops brushing them with her fingertips. She closed her eyes as she flew, feeling the warmth of the sun and the wind kissing her face. She let out a scream of happiness and flew straight up into the sky. She hit something, hard. Her wings flapped as she looked for the culprit but saw nothing. She reached out and laid her hand on glass. She looked in horror at the glass dome she was concealed in. A hand reached down picking up the dome and shook it hard. The snow started to fall again and beat down on her wings sending her plummeting towards the unforgiving ground. She felt the cold eat up the warmth of the sun while she fell back towards her prison.

Alanna let out an anguished cry sitting bolt upright in bed, sending Lumi flailing across the floor. She let out an angry bark in protest at being woken up. Alanna looked around in sadness as the dream faded. She knew it was true, she would always be trapped. She sighed getting up and went towards the kitchen to feed Lumi. She started to bend over but froze suddenly. A smile spread across her lips as a plan unfolded in her mind. She looked down at Lumi with a wide smile.
“Today Lumi, we are going to fly. Today we will be free forever!” She picked up the confused dog and spun her around as she ran out the front door. Alanna knew what she had to do. She ran outside without a jacket or shoes into the barren wasteland she called home. She grabbed the little butterfly that had died in the snow on her windowsill. Then she ran with Lumi. She ran until she found the wall that was the dome keeping her trapped here. She ignored the cold and set Lumi down. A look of dead determination in her blue eyes.

“You ready to fly Lumi?” she smiled at the dog as she placed her freezing hands on the glass. She started to push. Slowly she felt the dome start to inch forward. She kept pushing until she felt nothingness beneath her. She picked up Lumi and kissed her, as she got ready to fly. She ran back one more time and gave it everything she had. One last push.

That one moment meant everything for Alanna. She gave everything she had for just that single moment as the snow globe spun off the shelf towards the ground. Finally she was free to fly. She lived her whole life for that single moment, and it was everything she had dreamt it would be.

There was a crash and then only a winter’s silence was left with shards of broken glass.