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It was fairly early the next morning when she heard the light knock on her apartment door.  She frowned in surprise.  She wasn’t expecting anyone.  Not even her roommate.  Today was Saturday, the day after Christmas.  Aejin wasn’t supposed to return from visiting her family until the middle of January.

April wandered over to the door and opened it curiously.  But she found an empty hallway.  She sighed as she began to close the door.  That’s when she discovered that her initial judgment hadn’t been quite right.  The corridor wasn’t completely empty.  There was a box on the floor in front of her door.  A white box with a white lid.  It had been secured to the box with a bright crimson ribbon that had been tied into a bow on the top of the lid.

Her eyebrows ascended her face as she stared down at this mysterious gift.  Perhaps someone had left it for Aejin.  April bent to retrieve it before carrying it into her apartment.  She set it down on the desk.  She would leave it for her friend to find when she returned in January.

But…the longer she stared at it, the more curious she became.  Surely, it wouldn’t hurt anything if she just took a peek at its contents.  Carefully, she pulled the ribbon loose and lifted the lid.  She gazed down in wonder at the tiny, gold earrings that were nestled inside that white box.

She frowned as she studied them.  Two golden crosses dangled from the gold posts.  But…Aejin never wore crosses.  She was a Buddhist.

As April’s eyes slid over the beautiful, little crosses, she suddenly started.  And glanced down at her necklace.  These earrings perfectly matched the cross dangling from her gold chain.  Down to the intricate, fine scrolling in the center of each bar of the cross.  She gaped at those three crosses as her eyes moved back and forth between them.  Had someone bought these for her?  But…who?

And…why?

After staring in wonder at them for several long moments, she caught sight of a little triangle of paper sticking up along one side of the box.  She reached down and tugged on it.  It broke loose with ease, and she withdrew a little card.  Her eyes devoured its sweet message.

“Hello.  I caught sight of you yesterday.  On a lonely Christmas morning.  And you seemed…lost.  I wanted to help you find your way home.  I’m hoping this is a good place to start.  Now you have all three of the crosses.”

She stopped reading to gape at those words.  Words which confirmed that this gift was for her.  Not for Aejin.

All three of the crosses?

To what was her admirer alluding?

She continued reading.

“I hope you like them.  I resisted the urge to buy them last week.  But when I saw your golden cross, I instantly recognized that they were yours.  So I returned to the store…and sighed with relief when I found them after a bit of a search.  They are yours now.  Wear them with joy.”

April stared in wonder down at the note in her hand.  Who on earth would care enough about her to bless her with such a beautiful present?

She couldn’t fathom the answer to that question.  But she felt an odd excitement filling her heart.  Someone had noticed her.  In a good way.  And this mysterious person hadn’t just noticed that her tips were burgundy or that her shirt was blue.  This secret admirer had taken note of the cross dangling from the chain around her neck.  And thought enough of it to remember seeing two more just like it.  And then…to have retraced his…or her…steps to purchase them for her…a stranger?

She must be a stranger to this mystery.  For she couldn’t think of a single person in Seoul – not one acquaintance – who would have spent his or her hard-earned money on her.  Not even Aejin.  Certainly not Aejin.

So…who were they from?

As she pondered this mystery, she headed for the mirror that hung on the door.  She reached up to remove her teardrop earrings.  She watched as she donned her gifts.  Then April smiled at her reflection.  At the two golden crosses now dangling from her earlobes.  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d smiled at herself.  It felt…good.

Strange.

But good.