The Man in the Snowglobe

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

A small GIRL and her FATHER walk into the girl’s bedroom. The girl is carrying a snow globe. She tips the snow globe upside down, allowing the fake snow and glitter inside to disperse and fill the space within. The girl then places the snow globe on a shelf that is filled with an assortment of ornaments of all shapes and sizes.

The girl examines the snow globe carefully.

INT. SNOW GLOBE - DAY

A MAN in warm clothing that covers him from head to toe lifts himself from the ground looking slightly confused. He carefully studies his hands, touches his face and pats his sides.

He then looks at the world around him. The snow falling from the watery sky glistens and glints in the daylight which is streaming in through the glass encasing his tiny world. His surroundings are beautiful but desolate, as the only other object in the snow globe is a small, inanimate snowman. 

The man looks up and notices the girl staring at him, who looks huge and omnipotent from his perspective. He walks, overwhelmed with feelings of awe and excitement, closer to the glass at the edge of his world. Standing next to the glass, he stares at the huge girl for a moment, and then falls to his knees.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

The girl continues to examine the snow globe with growing curiosity. She smiles, and watches as the small man stands up and begins to wave at her. She giggles quietly, and wiggles her finger at him in a timid wave.

She then steps away from the shelf and the snow globe, but continues to stare at it for a moment.

The father steps closer toward the small girl and, leaning toward her, puts his hand on her shoulder.

Father
What’s wrong honey?

Girl
Do you think he’s lonely in there?
                             

Father
Don’t worry, he’s fine. He’s trapped in a perfect world.


The small girl looks at her father and smiles. They exit and close the door behind them, leaving the man in the snow globe alone.

INT. SNOW GLOBE - DAY

The man presses himself against the glass, longing for the small girl to return. After realising that she is not coming back, he backs away from the glass, and wanders toward the snowman.

The man begins to examine the snowman. At first he waves at it, hoping for a response. After understanding that he is completely alone, he attacks the snowman, kicking and slashing in a fit of frustration.

The man eventually decides to sit down, taking in the violence of his previous act. He grasps his face in his hands and begins to calm down.

As an act of sympathy, he then rearranges the snowman’s smile as he walks further toward the glass.

Examining the strange objects that are arranged around the snow globe on the shelf, he notices a model of a girl dancing and wearing a Hawaiian grass skirt, and instantly falls in love. He reaches out to try and touch her but his efforts are thwarted by the glass. 

The small man moves to the edge of the snow globe and begins continuously ramming himself against it.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY   

The snow globe falls off the shelf, the glass shattering into tiny pieces. As the liquid inside starts to drain, the small man begins to climb out of his prison.

Crawling on all fours onto the flooded shelf, the small man catches a quick glimpse of the girl before clutching his throat in a panic.

The man begins gyrating violently as he realises that he is not capable of breathing outside of the water. He begins sucking in air in a desperate attempt to breathe but continues to suffocate. In his last dying moments the man begins to calm. He looks up towards the figure of the woman as he continues to splutter and his expression softens into a slight smile. His eyes finally become dull as he lies dead on the shelf outside of his perfect world.