“It can’t be winter forever!” Crystal shouted as she slammed her feet onto the snowy ground.

“Of course it can,” Winter replied. “It has been for centuries.”

“No,” Crystal said sternly. “I can’t believe that to be true. Someplace needs to see the sun.”

“Well, it’s true whether you believe it or not. Even if you got there, our bodies can’t handle the heat of the sun. We’ve evolved here, to live in snow. You’d probably die immediately.” Winter said.

Crystal went quiet and paced nervously around the glass perimeter. Winter remained sitting on the clean and cold sheet of snow that fell decades ago.

“As bad as you want to see through the glass of the Snowglobe,” Winter said, trying to shift the subject. “You wouldn’t be able to see anything anyway because of all the ice.”

“Ice,” Crystal repeated. “Ice is really the only thing keeping me from seeing the sun?” 

“Come on, Crystal. You can’t love the sun that much, you’ve never seen it!” Winter said, trying to be empathetic towards her desire to leave even though he feared the outside himself.

“Exactly!” Crystal shouted. “Every creature on this ancient Earth before us has gotten the chance to feel the sun on their bodies. Why are we the only ones who have to be restrained in the Snowglobe? Why did we ever adapt to living this way?”

“Crystal, I’ve told you this a million times. We can’t leave here! I don’t know why we chose this life, but it’s too late to change it now. I hate being the person to tell you this, but there’s just no way for you to escape the Snowglobe without dying before embracing the feeling of summer. I’m sorry.” Winter said, fearing Crystal’s reaction.

Crystal stopped pacing and rested on the snow next to Winter. She took his hand and looked into his icy blue eyes.

“I’m willing to test that,” Crystal said firmly.

“What?” Winter asked.

“I’m willing to risk my life to go outside. If the sun burns me alive, I’ll just be happy that I got to see it. Besides, if we haven’t been outside in so long, how can we know for sure that we  can’t make it outside?”

“Crystal,” Winter replied. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“Maybe it is,” Crystal said calmly. “But we’ll just have to see.”

“Please don’t go, Crystal,” Winter begged. “I love you. If you risk your life like this, I don’t know how I’ll live with the fact that I allowed you to go outside.”

“So you’re asking if you can come with me?” Crystal asked.

“That is absolutely not what I was asking you,” Winter replied as he rolled his eyes.

“Well then,” Crystal said. “I guess I’ll have to ask you then. Will you come with me?”

“Crystal,” Winter said firmly. “In what world, planet, or universe would I ever say yes to that?”

“Well,” Crystal said calmly. “You said you love me. If that’s true, you’ll come with me.”

“I love you when you’re my wife, in the Snowglobe.” Winter said. “Not so much when you want me to go and burn alive because you want to go outside and see a dying star millions of miles away from the planet.”

Crystal turned towards the icy glass dome and went silent for just a moment.

“Please?” Crystal asked.

Winter rolled his eyes again, but he was beginning to consider it. After all, it had been over ten generations since the last person from the Snowglobe ever went outside to feel the sun. What were the chances that the sensitivity to warmth was still within them today? As these thoughts raced through Winter’s mind, Crystal sat before him as she continued to beg. Her colorless hair fell before her hopeful eyes, but she was too busy waiting for an answer to move her hair out of the way for the moment. Her ears were her main concern until she heard a response from Winter.

“Fine,” Winter said. “But you better protect me if anything bad happens.”

Crystal quickly pushed her hair out of her face and hugged Winter so tightly that they both fell into the soft snow. Crystal shot up from the ground with her husband in her arms.

“I promise! I’ll be right! You’ll see!” Crystal shouted in excitement as she went in for a second hug.

The next morning, Crystal and Winter set out to break enough of the glass for them to leave. They gathered all the clothing and protection they needed and sat before their chosen section of the glass. With a forceful hit from Crystal, the glass began to crack. After a few more hits, Crystal had broken enough glass to see through to the grassy field outside of the Snowglobe.

“Woah,” Winter said mindlessly.

“Do you trust me yet?” Crystal asked.

“If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be here with you right now.”

As Crystal and Winter stare into each other’s barely blue eyes, their faces both light up in excitement to leave the cold, eternal winter that is the Snowglobe. However, Winter’s smile slowly fades into a fearful expression.

“You still seem upset even though we’re almost there,” Crystal said. “What’s wrong?”

“Crystal…” Winter said.

“Yes?” Crystal replied in confusion.

“What if this is goodbye?” Winter asked as he continued to stare into Crystal’s eyes.

“Well then,” Crystal replied. “I’m happy to go see the sun in what could be my final moments with the love of my life. Does that make you feel better? Because I really mean it.”

Winter smiled back at her with reassurance in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Winter said. “And I guess I can say the same to you right now. You may be crazy, trying to leave this place, but I love you, Crystal.”

“Okay,” Crystal said, staring out of the hole in the glass. “Those are our last words now. We gotta go.”

Winter took a deep breath and braced himself to go outside.

“You go first,” Winter said nervously.

“Okay,” Crystal replied.

Crystal crawled out carefully onto the grass. No pain, no burning. She slowly lifted her head to look up at the blue sky. Her eyes squinted at the light in the sky, unprepared to see the outside. She stretched out her legs and sat down on the soft, green grass. Winter anxiously stayed inside the glass.

“Is it safe?” Winter asked.

Crystal looked at the palms of her hands and realized how comfortable she felt.

“I think so,” Crystal said.

Winter slowly crawled out of the hole in the glass. 

“What do you think?” Crystal asked.

“I think you were right,” Winter replied.

“Will we ever return to the Snowglobe?” Crystal asked as she looked at Winter’s expression of amazement. “Because I don’t think I could ever go back there after seeing all of this.”

Winter stared up at the open sky as Crystal stared into the vast hills ahead. Winter and Crystal’s eyes met as both of their faces lit up once again.

“No,” Winter said as he took Crystal’s hand. “I couldn’t go back there either.”