My sister had a few hobbies; lace making was one of them, but the other one was miniatures. One year she made an old-fashioned Dutch kitchen in a one room box, and I liked it so much I wanted to do something similar.

During one of our vacations in Holland, we went to a trade show where vendors sold just about anything in miniature, and I loaded up on miniature garden related items. I also purchased a kit to make a one room store, which ended up becoming a flower store. It took me a while to put it all together, but eventually I had my store. The floor was black and white (paper) tiles, I painted it inside and out and glued little cabinets to the walls to display vases filled with flowers. I even found a black board and in my smallest handwriting wrote out prices of the various items. Then, one year, my sister sent me a tiny little snail in the mail. No bigger than 1/8 of an inch, with a shell, it was a perfect replica of the garden snails found in Dutch gardens. I wondered what to do with it; it was so small it was easily overlooked. Ultimately, I glued it to the top of the door frame of my little flower shop, where it sat for many years. Then we moved.

Arriving in our new home it was time to unpack box, after box, after box. Within the week we were done, and it was then I discovered during the move and unpacking, the little snail had come undone and it was gone. I looked around in the hope to find it, but without any luck; it was definitely gone. Over the years I moved the box to different rooms, a spare bedroom, the basement, my plant room in the basement and eventually this spring to my she-shed.

During one of the last conversations I had with my sister I happened to mention the snail, how it was lost and how much it annoyed me that I had lost it. We both agreed that something that small could easily get lost during a move and we left it at that.

Last week we purchased two glass cabinets at Ikea to put in my she-shed to replace the old wooden ones I had. We put them together (which took for-EVER!) so I could display horticultural-themed items (vases, plates, cups) given to me or purchased because they were so pretty. The flower shop was put on a low table where it could easily be viewed. Two days ago, sitting and reading in the she-shed I looked to the box and saw something small on its floor. I thought it was a piece of dried flower fallen from one of the arrangements on the wall, but no, it was the snail. Almost exactly five years after disappearing, it was back!

What were the chances this tiny little snail came undone during the move and fell through the opened door? Or that it fell into a corner or under the little table and NEVER showed on the floor any time it was moved to a new location? Less than four weeks after my sister’s death it is back; my little snail from heaven.

(And yes, I re-glued it to the door frame, with extra strong glue.)