Special Delivery: A Mystery Package Appeared

The morning started as usual. Karissa woke up with a long stretch and yawn, rolling her shoulders and rousing from slumber’s grip. Sunlight crept into her bedroom from behind her curtains, birds chirping outside and greeting the new day. Karissa appreciated this peaceful stretch in the morning. No matter what chaos appeared later in the day, this calm time was hers, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything. Heading to the bathroom to wash her face, she patted her white cat, Mitsuki, on the head in greeting. Mitsuki cracked a blue eye open with a slight “mew” before flicking her black-tipped ears, snuggling back to sleep. Mitsuki appreciated quiet, serene mornings, too; it was part of the reason the two meshed so well.

Face washed, Karissa strolled into the kitchen. Mitsuki, well familiar with the routine, hopped off the bed with a languid stretch and yawn before slowly meandering after Karissa. Hearing the crack of her favorite can of cat food, Mitsuki added some pep to her step. Placing the cat dish on the floor for her furry companion, Karissa moved back to the fridge to contemplate her own breakfast. There was no rush; she always made sure to wake up early enough to take the morning at a leisurely pace. It was her time—she was not at the mercy of anything else.

She settled on a bell pepper and onion omelet; although never particularly hungry in the morning, the demands of life later in the day would cause regret for skipping breakfast. Karissa grabbed her blue, Sesshomaru apron off the hook. She cracked several eggs, whipping them into a smooth mixture. Getting her Shoto Todoroki cutting board, she began chopping peppers and onions. Ingredients prepped, she combined them all and began cooking with her turquoise frying pan, which matched the other kitchen decor. Humming quietly, Karissa flipped the omelet onto her plate as Mitsuki rubbed against her legs, finished with her own breakfast. Karissa settled at the table, appreciating the cherry blossoms sitting in the vase, and Mitsuki hopped onto her lap, content and purring. Peaceful mornings were a pure gift from the universe. Meal finished, Karissa sighed, satisfied. Mitsuki wandered off to her favorite daytime spot in the window, sunning herself, while Karissa washed her dishes in the sink and placed them on the drying rack.

With the day off from the dojo until the after-school lesson Karissa planned to stop by the art museum; she taught calligraphy classes there on weekends and kept tabs on all the different displays in the exhibits. The new exhibit should be ready any day now. Karissa walked to the front door, prepared to go tie up loose ends at the museum, when she stopped short. There on her Kirara doormat laid a box. It was incredibly plain. Unremarkable. Wrapped simply in brown paper. No identifiers or labels. Perplexed, Karissa stared at the object blocking her path. It made no sense. The mail arrived every afternoon; she always made sure to grab the mail each night. She hadn’t ordered anything online recently, either. Where on Earth did this package come from, and why was it lying nonchalantly on her doorstep?

Grabbing an umbrella from the rack, she prodded the package cautiously. Who knew what lay inside this… oddity. Memories of the recent teenage pranks filtered through her mind. Narrowing her eyes, she contemplated her options. They knew better than to try to prank her—she had taught plenty of them karate previously; they knew she was a force to be reckoned with. They wouldn’t even dare to think about pranking her. They valued their lives too much to consider such an act. That crossed one possibility off the list. She didn’t have any spiteful exes/coworkers, either. While Karissa interacted with others, she preferred her own company or that of Mitsuki and a select few others. Peace and quiet were much more her speed. The enigma of the package eluded her. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Sighing, Karissa rubbed her temples. This wasn’t how she envisioned her day. Lips pulling into a slight frown, Karissa poked the box again. At least it didn’t appear to contain anything alive. That was something. She made a silent plea to the universe that the contents weren’t dead, either. That’s the last thing she’d want to deal with.

Crossing her arms in contemplation, she weighed her options. It wouldn’t do to leave the box on her doorstep, but she didn’t want to bring unknown contents inside—her home was her sanctuary. Nothing would defile it. Not if she had any say in the matter; her haven would remain undefiled. Hearing her cellphone ringing from inside her bag by the door, Karissa eyed it warily. “Please, no more surprises,” she silently begged. Sighing, she grabbed her bag, never taking her eyes off the package, as if its contents may burst out of the box at any moment, causing a ruckus.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, Kari!” Serena chirped.

Karissa was relieved to hear Serena rather than another “surprise” life might have thrown at her. “I’m surprised you are awake at this hour. You rarely are, especially when you have your self-proclaimed ‘anime-and-desert-athons’ the night before. When did you even go to bed?” Karissa evaluated, quirking an eyebrow.

“How could I not be? Last night was sooooo good! You should have been there! You know how much we loved Fruits Basket as kids! The reboot is epic! It had me bawling my eyes out! Sad and happy tears, for the record. I couldn’t sleep after that; I was too pumped up!” Serena gushed.

Karissa sighed, “Not sleeping isn’t healthy. You really should prioritize your health. You promised you wouldn’t do that anymore, remember? I have no qualms with binging anime, but your body shouldn’t suffer as consequence. Besides, you probably couldn’t sleep due to your sugar intake. God knows how much you consume. And you know that I won’t come to your anime-and-desert-athons. Not after the cake fiasco. And the marshmallow incident. And the cookie-sandwich stuffed with ice cream, brownies, and sopapilla debacle. Need I go on?”

Serena huffed, “It’s fun and delicious! Live a little! Cut loose! You won’t regret it—I never do!” Karissa’s mind’s eye could picture the delighted shimmy Serena executed, unperturbed by Karissa’s attitude.

Skeptical, Karissa remarked, “Do you ever regret anything?”

Serena paused, deep in thought, probing her memory for any such occasion. “Hmm…. No, I can’t say that I recall any instance of regret. Life’s a journey, and you’re meant to enjoy it!”

Karissa sighed. Her friend was indeed a free spirit and at times wild card. Heaven only knows how she managed to safely reach the age of twenty-six with no major incidents. That, and stay incredibly thin despite all the desserts she ate. How she pulled that off and never got sick was an inexplicable miracle. Sometimes, it really didn’t feel like Serena was from this planet.

“Regardless, there must have been a reason you called.” Karissa probed.

“Oh, that’s simple! It was to notify you!” Serena chirped.

“Notify me? What on Earth would you be notifying me about?”

“You’re surprise, silly! Did you see it yet?”

Wary, Karissa wondered about what “surprise” Serena had up her sleeves this time. Hopefully, nothing involving sweets. She gave an internal shudder. That was not how she wanted to start her day. Comprehension dawned on her, eyeing the strange package on her doorstep. “A… surprise? Like a box left at my doorstep?”

“Yep!” Karissa could hear the massive grin in Serena’s voice.

“And what, pray tell, compelled you to leave a random, nondescript box at my door?? I was considering how to dispose of it, unsure of its contents. Moreover, why didn’t you bring it inside? What’s the point of having a key to my home if you don’t use it?” Karissa huffed, exasperated.

“Silly, it’s a good luck box! It’s to help with the exhibit; it’ll guarantee smooth sailing! And I know how much you savor morning quiet; it’s your sacred time! What kind of friend would I be if I interrupted it? Not a very good one, that’s what! Sheesh, you should know that!” Serena scoffed.

The fact that Serena knew not to disrupt the morning tranquility was a point in her favor, but Karissa couldn’t see how leaving a random box on her doorstep received the green light in Serena’s mind. Deciding not to take up that battle, she began, “I don’t see why I need a good luck—”

Feeling the matter at hand was important and couldn’t wait, Serena interrupted, “Oh, just open it already! I worked really hard on it!”

Karissa, hearing pride in Serena’s voice, sighed, which often happened when her alien-like friend was involved. She might as well get this over with; Serena obviously wouldn’t drop the matter. She smiled indulgently—Serena brought the crazies and childish fun out of the depths of her serious soul. Why Serena felt the need to make it a “surprise” was beyond her, but, to be fair, Serena had been like this for forever. Karissa began to methodically unwrap the box, not bothering to lift it from the front porch and create a mess inside.

“Have you opened it yet?” Serena inquired impatiently, squirming.

“I’m working on it,” Karissa assured her, folding up the brown paper wrapping.

She lifted the flaps, peering inside. What she found inside was… interesting. It looked like Serena had grabbed a random assortment of items and threw them together in the guise of a “good luck box.” Granted, Karissa could tell Serena had packed them with the utmost care, but she couldn’t fathom a guess as to why. Some of the items… looked like they belonged in somebody’s junk draw. Karissa knew her friend better than to assume she would pawn junk off on her, but she didn’t understand it at all.

“You gave me… things.”

“They’re not just things! They’re treasures!” Serena insisted.

“These are… treasures?” Karissa raised an eyebrow, despite her friend being unable to witness her bafflement. Picking up what seemed to be a random string, she inquired, “All of them? Even this string?”

“Of course! That was from when we went ice skating in Chicago, remember? It almost turned into a nasty spill, but that guy just nicked the ice skate instead of plowing into us.”

Karissa did, indeed remember that incident. That revelation gave her pause as she glanced back at the box’s contents.

“And then there’s the seashell from our beach trip together in Florida, the sparkling rock from the hiking trail we visited in Colorado, the label of that cheesy candle we got when we went to Nashville, one of the hair scrunchies from our lake trip—they’re all treasures!”

With that new insight, the contents in the box took on a new light. Serena had painstakingly gone through her stash of friendship mementos. Granted, Karissa wouldn’t keep things like labels or strings, but she could see why Serena placed great value on them. Karissa gave the box a small smile.

“Okay, I received your good luck box; there’s no way the exhibit can fail now. Thank you, Rena,” Karissa assured her.

“Of course! What are friends for? As your bestie, I’ll always help however I can! Best of luck to you! I think I’m gonna go take a nap, though,” Serena yawned. “For some reason, I feel rather tired.”

Karissa chuckled, “Hmm, it’s a wonder. Sleep well.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Karissa took the mementos out of the box, placing them next to her printout from their trip to Anime Invasion and her photo of her and Serena with their cats. They held onto different types of mementos, but they both treasured their friendship without a doubt. Serena was an odd one, but she cared immensely. Karissa was grateful to have her as a friend. She smiled at her new collection. Invigorated, Karissa thought, “Right, time to go nail that exhibition.”