The Glass Paperweight

I was nudging my way past an open sketchbook on the table when a blinding flash bounced off a heavy glass dome! Ah—gah! My floating hands flew straight up to shield my eyes, bracing for an aerial blast! But when nothing shattered, I slowly parted two trembling white fingers. Sitting right in the center of the tabletop was a smooth glass paperweight. Trapped deep inside the solid crystal sphere was a yellow paper butterfly, perfectly preserved and magnified by the curved glass walls! Look at the serrated black scalloping along its wing borders—it will never blow away or get crushed. Utterly hypnotized, I nudged an old wooden draughtsman pencil snug against the glass base to anchor our perimeter.