Submission (#3181) Approved

As the sun began to rise higher in the sky, a gorgeous march morning became apparent. The spring birds chirping and flying to-and-fro, morning dew creating the aroma of wet grass, and the temperature steadily rising, but being kept back by a chill breeze. And Solana, a gentle marine terralien, began to arise from her slumber. Solana drew back the blankets of her bed and stretched, yawning as she turned off her morning alarm. Solana was the stunning image of gentle, summer beach afternoons, with her mostly pale orange and red complexion. Cutting across her thighs were stripes of purple and white, like the night creeping upon a sunset, that made its way to her shark-like tail. As Solana brushed and fixed her hair and cat-like ears, the shark critter in her visor began lazily swimming itself awake, gently nestled awake by Solana’s movements.
'What shall I do today?' Solana pondered to herself. While she had made sure she woke up early to start her day, she realized she hadn’t actually thought about what she wanted to do. Making her way to the front door, she stepped out and breathed in the fresh morning air. While she was taking in the gentle rays of sun, Solana noticed a flyer at her feet. Picking up the somewhat-damp piece a paper, she began reading it’s contents:
'Today only! The Terralien Yard Sale Bash! Open shop alongside your neighbors and give your old things a new purpose! Anyone welcome to participate, yard signs will be given upon request!'
'A yard sale bash?,' Solana thought to herself, 'Well! I guess I know what I’m doing today!'
Solana hurriedly rushed back inside, grabbing her things and making herself presentable. When Solana stepped back outside again, her ears were perked with excitement, and across her body were several types of flowers that matched her sunny colors. Making her way to the main branch of the bash, as stated by the flyer, Solana thought about the things she might find. She was most interested in the potential of finding snow globes, as she usually found them at yard sales or antique stores, and she always enjoyed adding to her little collection.
Solana made her way down the street, and looked across at all the tables full of trinkets and odds-and-ends, as well as noting the decent-sized wave of other terraliens that were also meandering about. The sight of the other terras made Solana a little uneasy, but she was determined to pursue her prize.
'You can handle this, you don’t need to be talking to most of these terras anyways!' Solana thought to console herself as she began her search. The first sale she browsed seemed to be of an older terra’s things, as there was quite a bit of older clothes and antique items. Solana stopped at a table that consisted of large amounts of porcelain figures, but did not see a snow globe. Satisfied with her search, she continued on. The next two sales went similarly, with Solana best trying to avoid the busiest booths, yet not finding any snow globes. She almost passed by another booth, when a glimmer caught her attention. At a table where some other terras were gawking at some items, sat a little purple snow globe. Solana knew she didn’t have one like that, and cautiously made her way over, painfully aware of how many terras there were. Solana pretended to look at a bookshelf of items nearby, for she didn’t want to squeeze in or ask the other terraliens to move so she could get to the snow globe. After a sluggish amount of time, the other terras finally left the table, but as Solana hurriedly rushed over, she realized the snow globe was gone. Disappointed, yet not discouraged, she left the booth. A few sales over, Solana spotted yet another ornate snow globe while browsing at a yard. Problem was, this snow globe sat in a bag in the yard, almost behind some of the other items that were sold. Solana debated with herself.
'Is that for sale? It’s almost hidden, like someone put it aside hoping nobody would buy it. What if it’s someone’s personal bag of collected items, and they set it down, only to forget about it when they left?' While Solana argued and worried about it in her head, another terralien came by and, after spotting the bag, flagged down the owner of this specific sale.
“Excuse me! But is that for sale?” The stranger asked.
“Oh, but of course! My apologies, I must’ve forgotten to take it out and set it up!” Replied the seller.
Solana shifted away from the sale as the two terras discussed prices. The day was carrying on, and more terraliens were leaving, to Solana’s gratitude, but more terras were prepping to close their booths and take their remaining items back inside. Hurt that now she let two snow globes slip by her, Solana promised herself that the next snow globe she saw, she’d just go for it, and wouldn’t let her nervousness hold her back again.
On the last sale at the end of the row of yard sale sat a meager selection. Solana was just going to pass it and call it quits, when she saw yet another snow globe on top of a bookshelf of items. Solana cautiously headed over, but with purpose. Upon a closer inspection, the snow globe was a small, but peculiar golden figure. The snow globe itself had nothing inside, besides the titular flakes, but the body that wrapped around the globe itself was of a little snail, using the globe as a shell.
'What a perfect, cute little snow globe! Solana thought to herself, I wonder how much it costs?'
Solana gently reached for it but, even on the tips of her paws, she couldn’t reach where it was on the shelf. Solana looked around. The only terralien around was the seller, who was distracted packing some stuff up already. She could feel herself buckling, backing out already, but she stopped herself. Taking a few deep breaths and rehearsing what she would say, she quietly approached the seller.
“U-uhm. Excuse me!” Solana stuttered out, grabbing the other terra’s attention. She swallowed. “Uhm, can you.. Can you reach something for me?”
“Oh, of course!” The terralien sprung up excitedly, “What do you need?”
Solana waved her goodbyes and thanked the other terralien again, who acknowledged it with a smile and a wave. Looking down in her arms where she gently shielded the snail-globe, Solana felt satisfied with her day, her tail gently swaying as she made her way back home.