Sometime in the past, a young boy grew sick. It was one of those “Hey, where’d you come from and what are you” kinds you see in stories like this all the time, coming in fast and having no cure, leaving the victim to die bedridden in a short amount of time. During this time, the boy’s older sister would often stop by to talk with him, and once, she gave him a snow globe she made just for him. The little misshapen orb wasn't all that great, but the little model house on the hill surrounded by what looked like trees was obviously their very own home. The boy loved it, no matter how odd it looked, and the sister promised to make one for him every week he stayed alive.
Four more of them were made.
The family left after a year or so. They couldn't stay in the same place for long, couldn't stand walking past his empty room with its wide open door for much longer. So they moved. But they left someone.
That’s right, the boy’s still there in that house, inside that room. Inside those five snow globes, actually. It was only when new people bought the house and lived there that anyone noticed, and then it was just because the little white flakes inside swirled and sometimes there was a bit of light shining from the house. See, his spirit latched itself onto them and he stayed in there, creating his own little world where it snowed all the time, but was never cold. He stayed there, and eventually, he grew bored. Lonely. This creeped out the new owners and they sold the snow globes off.
Now, the boy knew all about wanting to escape. Hadn't he always wanted to leave his room? So he influenced the buyers of the snow globes, making sure they all came into the possession of someone else who wanted to escape somehow. Maybe their live were dull, or chaotic, maybe the troubles were all in their pasts or their present minds, but for some reason, they wanted out. The boy thought it’d be nice to give them a way out. Where better to, than his fantasy world?
The people who owned the globes wouldn't notice much about them. They might've wondered why they even got the things, but other than that, they were just ordinary, handmade snow globes. For a while. After a few days while the spirit inside got to get a feel for them, the globes glowed, then the glass fogged over. The words “Do You Want To Leave?” would be made in the glass, and the person would affirm. Everyone has their reasons why, but the important part is that they do it. Then, the snow starts falling around them, swirling faster and faster until they can’t see, and when it stops--They’re inside that miniature house. In the snow globe!
Each house has a bedroom, a library, and a kitchen catered specifically towards their personal tastes, and a hallway with a door for each other house, marked by a symbol that changed depending on the owner of that snow globe, and a door with a snowflake carved on it. Through these doors, a person could visit another person’s snow globe--Given permission by the owner at some point!--or enter the boy’s world.
His world.
There are a few permanent residents gathered over the years, who've decided to stay with him for some reason or other. They have their own rooms in a larger, more true-to-reality version of the house. This world is inside the very first snow globe. Because the kid forgot what it looked like outside, there is nothing but forest there, which a few people have ventured into and settled down in. No one is ever hungry or thirsty, only eating for the taste of the food. Most people there are friendly enough, helpful in their own ways.
It seems perfect, right? Get away from the world for a while, live there where you never need to worry about anything… And the spirit that started it all does say you can leave and return whenever you want, just by saying certain phrases…
Eh, but the kid’s a bit clingy. He doesn't want anyone to leave. What he didn't tell you is that every time you go back, you’re more a part of that world. And after some time, you’ll be trapped there, your soul entering the globe and leaving your body behind. Or, at least, that's what a woman in the woods tells you. You don't really believe it at first, but maybe it is true? But that’s alright, isn't it? After all, you could be happy there. For ever, and ever, and ever…