The Magnificent Glass Globe

by N. R Bergeson

  Ike, with his customarily bad manners, starting shoveling food onto his own plate, ignoring everyone else. Mary made sure that Grandpa got some of everything, and shot a disapproving look at her brother.

  Ike didn’t notice, as he was intently focused on building what looked like a volcano out of his mashed potatoes. He looked up at her, opening his eyes wide and smiling like a mad scientist.

  “Behold my creation!” he said.

  Before Mary could blink, Ike violently threw his face into the mashed potato volcano and started eating, straight from the plate, with no hands. He made noises like a wild animal.

  “Excuse me, mister? Did you forget that we have a strict no-feral-child policy at the dinner table?” Mom scolded.

  Ike looked up, not saying anything, but with mashed potatoes smeared across the lens of his glasses. He tried to bite Mom’s finger as she wagged it at him from across the table.

  “I always thought he might be part snapping turtle,” Grandpa said, earning laughs from everybody, except Dad.

  “So, Jean, what’s the special occasion?” asked Dad, finally breaking his silence.

  “No special occasion,” Mom replied casually. “I just realized we aren’t spending as much quality time together as a family. Everybody’s always so busy with school and work. But isn’t this what normal families do? Sit and eat together, having normal conversations?”

  “A great suggestion, Jean,” Grandpa agreed. “And why don’t I start some of that normal conversation? I’d been hoping these young folks would let an old man know what’s going on in the school these days.”

  “It’s still standing.” Ike said quickly. “It hasn’t burnt down yet.”

  A piece of steak fell from Ike’s fork before it could reach his mouth, bouncing off his wrinkled school uniform and leaving a brownish grease stain. Mom groaned as she leaned across the table and started rubbing at the stain with a wet napkin.

  “Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Grandpa asked.

  “Only if you’re Mary,” Ike replied.

  “Mrs. Lehmann has been teaching us about the conservation of trees,” Mary piped in, hoping to spare them all from more of Ike’s attempted humor.

  “Oh, now that sounds interesting,” said Mom, clearly eager to do the same. “And what have you learned so far, dear?”

  “That too many trees are being cut down, and that more and more forests are being destroyed every year,” Mary answered in a depressed tone.

  She paused for dramatic effect.

  “Especially in the rainforest.”

  Dad coughed, almost choking on a piece of broccoli.

  “You know Grandpa, Mary’s an expert on the rainforest,” Ike jumped in. “In fact, she’s taking us all there for her birthday.”

  Mary ignored her brother and kept talking.

  “Mrs. Lehmann said that one of the biggest reasons the trees are destroyed is so people can raise cows. They burn down the trees in areas and turn the land into fields. Then, they sell the cows for beef in other countries.”

  Mary looked questioningly down at the steak on her plate.

  “Really?” said Mom, also glancing at her own plate. “I had no idea. Do you think these steaks came from cows raised in the rainforest?”

  “I hope not,” Mary said. “Because when the cows graze in the areas where the forest used to be, they ruin the soil so the trees won’t ever grow back. It’s destroying the rainforest.”

  “Yeah, because of too many cow pies,” Ike inserted.

  “Ike!” Mom reprimanded, though she was trying to hold back her own laughter.

  It annoyed Mary that this was turning into a joke.

  “Don’t worry too much, Mary,” Dad said, noticing her frown. “A lot of smart people are working hard to protect the rainforests. It’s a big place and a lot of the land’s preserved. It won’t all be destroyed.”

  “I know,” Mary said. “But it still isn’t good that so much of it keeps getting burned or cut down. It makes me sad to think about all the animals that have their natural habitats destroyed. Mrs. Lehmann said that thousands of different species go extinct every year. She said that some of them are animals we don’t even know about yet.”

  “That’s really a shame,” Mom said, now sounding genuinely concerned. “I wonder if there’s anything we could do?”

  “Maybe we should eat more cow pies?” Ike suggested.

  This time not even Mom laughed.

  “Remember what I said about jokes only being funny the first time?” she asked.

  Ike sat back and pouted at his failed attempt at humor. Somehow he now had bits of broccoli stuck in his dark hair.

  “One of the things we talked about was doing research to make sure that our beef doesn’t come from cows raised in areas cleared from the rainforests. It’s at least one thing we could do.” Mary suggested.

  “Yes!” Mom said, brightening. “I think that’s a great idea. I’ll do some research on the internet and find out which companies are okay to use.”

  “I’m proud of you Mary,” Grandpa said, giving her a pat on the shoulder. “You’re a wise girl for your age. We need more people like you who want to make the world a better place.”

  Mary beamed. Being praised by her beloved grandfather felt as good as anything she could imagine.

  Grandpa sat back with a thoughtful look on his face. He seemed to be contemplating something pleasant.

  “The rainforests really are so beautiful, and so full of life. They were always one my favorite places to visit,” he said, to nobody in particular.

  Suddenly, Grandpa seemed to realize what he was saying, and snapped back to reality.

  “Anyway, that’s not important. What else have you kids been doing in school?”

  Mary, shocked, completely ignored his question.

  “Grandpa, you’ve been to the Amazon before?” she asked.

  “Well … ” he said, carefully, “ … yes, but it was all such a long time ago. I don’t really remember that much.”

  Mary knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth. Grandpa nervously glanced over at Dad as he spoke. Dad refused to look up, instead remaining focused on his food.

  “Tell me about it, please?” Mary pleaded. “I want to go to the rainforest more than anything. What was it like? What did you see? Did you see any animals? Did you—”

  “Why don’t we talk about something else?” Dad said. “Your grandfather doesn’t want to be bombarded with all these questions.”

  Mary winced. She’d pushed too far again.

  “Maybe your father’s right,” Grandpa said. “We can talk about it another time.”

  “Oh Lewis, don’t be that way,” Mom cut in. “I want to hear about it too. Especially after what Mary’s been telling us about the rainforest, it might be nice to hear from somebody who’s actually been there before.”

  “Jean, I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dad said, trying to gesture at Mary with his eyeballs.

  Mom either didn’t notice or ignored Dad’s nonverbal pleas.

  “Go on, Ephraim,” Mom said. “Tell us about it.”

  “Well, I’ll try to tell you what I remember, but like I said, it was a long time ago. When you get old, your memory starts to fade, you know,” Grandpa said, still proceeding with obvious caution.

  Dad looked particularly annoyed, but instead of saying anything, went back to concentrating on his food.

  Mary sat attentively and faced her grandfather.

  “Tell me everything,” she demanded.

  “Well, I remember it being very loud for one thing.” Grandpa said. “There were animals everywhere making some sort of noise. Birds, monkeys, insects. Oh, and it’s also extremely hot and humid. Even the humidity here in the South is nothing compared to the rainforest. I was constantly sweating.”

  “Why did you go there? What did you do? How—”

  “Mary!” Dad was now clearly angry. “I
thought I made myself clear! I don’t want to hear any more talk about the rainforest, or about traveling, or about anything else!”

  Mary immediately went very quiet and sank into her chair. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

  “Lewis, what’s wrong?” Mom asked, genuinely surprised at Dad’s outburst.

  “It’s nothing,” Dad said sharply. “But if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”

  Before anybody could say another word, Dad stood up from the table, and stormed out of the room. Nobody said a thing, clearly shocked at his eruption. Dad often got annoyed, but was rarely angry like that.

  Grandpa cast another sad look at Dad as he left the room. Mary wished she knew why there was always this wall between them. What had happened?

  Later that night, lying in her bed, Mary couldn’t stop thinking about the incident. She couldn’t understand why Dad was so opposed to traveling. Mary knew that a trip to the rainforest was a longshot, but what hurt the most was that Dad wasn’t even willing to talk to her about it. It was her dream, and it was as if he was trying to crush it before it could even grow.

  A knock sounded on her bedroom door.

  “Mary, may I come in?” Dad’s voice called from the other side.

  “I guess,” Mary said, coldly.

  Dad entered and sat at the foot of her bed.

  “Mary, I’m sorry for the way I reacted at supper this evening,” he apologized. “It was wrong of me to get angry like that. I know that you really want to travel and see the world.”

  Mary sat up in her bed.

  “Dad, I know I can do it!” she blurted out, hoping this would be her chance. “Believe me, I’ll do all the research necessary. Don’t worry, it’ll be safe.”

  “Mary, I’m sorry, but it is a little bit more complicated than that,” Dad said. “First of all, you’re only eleven. But there’s something more than that. It’s hard for me to explain. I’m just … I’m just afraid of what might happen.”

  “Is it the money? I promise I’ll do whatever I can to earn it,” she reasoned.

  “No, it’s not that,” he said, staring at the wall. “I just can’t, I mean, it would be too hard … ”

  “What is it?” Mary asked, eager to hear whatever was so hard for him to say.

  “I’ll tell you about it someday. The subject’s just still a little too sensitive for me,” he confessed, his voice quivering slightly.

  Dad stood up and walked toward the door. Mary thought she saw the glisten of tears in his eyes.

  “You’re a wonderful girl, Mary,” he said. “I love you. Keep working hard, and I’m sure you’ll find all the adventure you’ll ever need.”

  “So does that mean you’ll still think about us going on a trip together?” Mary asked, hopeful.

  Dad sighed.

  “We’ll see, Mary. We’ll see.”

  He walked into the corridor, and shut the door.

  The Mysterious Trunk

  For the next two weeks, Mary was extra helpful around the house. She worked harder than ever at school. She knew that Dad hadn’t actually agreed to let her take a trip, but she had to at least try to win him over. He couldn’t hold out forever, could he?

  Every time Dad praised Mary for her efforts, she gently hinted that she hoped it was enough to convince him to let her travel. She was careful, not wanting to push too hard and undo all of her hard work. Yet every time she tried, Dad quickly changed the subject.

  “I don’t know what else I can do!” Mary lamented to Ike and Helen, as the three children sat bored in the museum one afternoon.

  “Maybe we could play hide and seek?” Ike suggested.

  “No way,” Helen protested. “There’s nowhere new to hide.”

  “I’m not talking about that,” Mary said. “I’m talking about convincing Dad to let me travel.”

  “I hate to break it to you, Mary,” said Helen. “But fifth-graders don’t travel the world. You might have to wait until you’re old enough to go on your own, just like everybody else.”

  “I’m pretty sure Mary’s already, like, forty,” Ike joked.

  “I really hope you’re wrong, Helen,” said Mary in despair. “I don’t think I can wait that long. I want to go now!”

  “Come on,” Helen said, standing up. “Let’s find something else to take your mind off traveling. If you really want to be an explorer, so why not start smaller, like with the warehouse?”

  Helen raised an eyebrow, shooting Mary a devious look.

  Mary couldn’t help but laugh. Helen always had a way of distracting her from whatever was on her mind. Sometimes that was a bad thing, but right now, Mary welcomed the chance to put her depression aside.

  “Why not?” Mary said, jumping up and following Helen.

  The museum’s warehouse was located in an enormous open area below the ground floor. The entire space was filled with stacked crates, which contained the museum’s collection of items currently not on display. Going into the warehouse was technically off limits, but Mary knew they’d stay out of any real trouble. Besides, it would still be another couple of hours before Dad was ready to go.

  “Isn’t it a little bit dark in there?” Ike asked, trying not to sound afraid. “You know, I just don’t want to have to save you girls if you think you see a ghost or something.”

  “Oh sure,” Helen said. “We’ll definitely need the brave little nine-year-old to keep us safe. Oh, Ike, my hero!”

  Mary and Helen both got a good laugh at Ike’s expense. He shrugged off their teasing.

  “I’m just saying,” he said. “Girls are afraid of the dark sometimes.”

  “Ike, if you’re scared, you don’t have to go down there with us,” Mary said.

  “I’m not scared!” Ike insisted as he followed them toward the stairway that led to the warehouse.

  It got progressively darker as they descended the long staircase. Soon, there was barely enough light to see the steps in front of them. Once they reached the basement floor, Helen quickly punched in a few numbers on the keypad, disabling the warehouse’s alarm system.

  “Now, where’s that light switch?” Ike asked, looking for the nearby master control for the overhead lighting.

  “I don’t think so,” Mary said, giving Helen a knowing nudge. “The whole idea is that we need to be explorers in the dark.”

  “Yeah, that’s right,” Helen said, catching Mary’s clue. “And in this game we’re not allowed to speak to each other either. The first one who makes it through the maze of crates and reaches the loading dock on the other side is the winner.”

  “In the … dark?” Ike asked, timidly. “Don’t you think that’ll be a little bit too hard?”

  “Of course,” Mary replied. “But that’s why it’s fun. You said you weren’t afraid, right?”

  Helen’s game actually did sound fun. Helen would win, of course. She always won at these types of games. But it was at least something new and different.

  “Fine,” Ike relented. “I just wanted to make sure that you’re all okay with being in the dark.”

  “Everybody ready?” Mary asked.

  “Ready,” Helen said.

  “I guess so,” Ike said.

  “On your marks … get set … go!”

  They plunged into the dark room, each taking a different path and feeling their way through the maze of crates.

  Mary moved deeper and deeper into the darkness. There were so many crates! Dad said that at any given time, only about five percent of the museum’s collection was actually on display. Some items were on loan to other museums, but the vast majority of what the museum owned was jammed into this warehouse. Mary wondered how they’d ever acquired so much.

  As she maneuvered through the wooden labyrinth, Mary nearly tripped over a long, flat crate in her path. She carefully stepped over it. On the other side, to her dismay, Mary found a dead end, a wall of stacked crates blocking her path. How was she supposed to ge
t through now?

  Mary bent down, hoping to find another way through. Much to her delight, she discovered a small open space between two crates. It was just large enough to let her squeeze through. It could be a shortcut, which meant she might be able to beat Helen after all.

  As she crawled on her hands and knees, Mary heard Ike fumbling his way through the warehouse. She stifled a giggle as he crashed into some crates.

  “For the love of barnacles!” he yelled in frustration.

  Mary continued to squeeze forward through the tiny tunnel, which continued for several feet. She hoped she’d find the other side soon.

  Her luck ran out. Instead of leading to an exit, Mary found her way completely blocked by another crate. She tried in vain to find a way around it.

  As she explored with her hands, she noticed something strange. This crate wasn’t made of plywood like the others. Instead, it was made of some other sort of hard, smooth material with metallic edges. On the side of the crate, Mary felt a large, flat metal disk with a keyhole in its center.

  What was this thing, and why was it buried here under all these crates?

  Without warning, the lights came on in the warehouse, shining through spaces in the boxes above her. Mary gulped, fearing that Dad had discovered them.

  “What did you do that for?” Helen yelled from the far end of the warehouse.

  “Come on, it’s impossible to see anything in this place in the dark!” Ike yelled back.

  Mary sighed in relief, thankful that Dad hadn’t walked in on them after all.

  Before Mary could slide backward out of the tunnel, she caught a glimpse of the odd crate that had blocked her way. With the lights now on, Mary could just make out some of its details. It wasn’t a crate after all, but another box which had previously been inside one of the normal plywood crates. Somehow, the crate’s side had broken open, revealing the strange box it contained. Something about it looked vaguely familiar to Mary. It took her a minute to realize what it was. As soon as she did, she was instantly filled with excitement.