December,1 In the usual morning rush she opens the door and almost steps into a box. „What the fuck?“ goes her first thought. The box is nicely wrapped in festive paper and she realizes, it is a gift. No card, no name on the box. Weird. Maybe it came by mistake. She has no time to open it, puts it inside her flat and hurries away to catch her train to work. „What could this be?“ curious and pleasantly anticipating thoughts change the first irritation in her mind. „What date is it today? The first day of winter… Otherwise nothing special,“ she soon forgets about the gift consumed by her daily hectic work. As she comes back home in the evening, here it is: the middle sized festive box. She can’t wait any longer and tears it open. Huge aroma candle with 3 candlewicks nicely smelling of vanilla and cookies. She smiles. „What if I make myself a nice dinner with a glass of red? Sitting there in the warmth of her tiny flat, she lights up the candle, closes her eyes feeling the candle aroma filling up the room and her nostrils tickle with delight, red wine warms her chest and for a second she forgets about all the hassle of the city. „Whom is it from? Not so many people know my new Paris address,“ she takes her phone to call her best friend being 99% sure this is from her. “I want to thank her. She knows how much I’ve been through and how these me-moments are needed right now.“ she thinks as she dials the number. „Apparently not from her. Weird,“ she falls asleep with a smile on her face. December, 2nd She takes a quick sip of her coffee, puts on her coat and opens the door. Another box! She cannot believe her eyes. Just like yesterday there is neither a note to get a hint whom it is from nor her name on it, but this time the box is small. She takes it with her and opens on the go. A pair of gloves. Soft, woolen and very elegant. „French,“ she thinks and tries them on. They fit perfectly and she decides to keep them on, realizing she’s left her gloves at home. „As always… Me and my rush,“ she thinks. December, 3rd As soon as her alarm clock rings she goes straight to the door to check for another box. „How silly this is,“ she thinks as she walks along her tiny apartment. “No way there’s something and most likely it is from my friends, they are just not willing to tell me, knowing that my mind loves riddles and intrigue.“ She opens the door and there it is again. This time it looks like a book carefully wrapped into a red paper with a bright red ribbon around it. Forgetting about the time and the rush, she opens it immediately: „Paris, I love you,” says the title. She smiles and texts her friend again: “Sweetie, this can be no-one but you. Thank you ❤️” As she gets dressed, sips her coffee, her phone rings: “Listen, Amelie, dear, I swear it is not from me,” her friend Julie on the phone. “Maybe there’s already someone in Paris who wants to win your heart,” Julie giggles. “I have to run, have a great day, dear!” For a moment Amelie feels the irritation again. “I was not going through all of it, escaping to Paris alone to find another jerk!“ she slams the door rejecting to take the book with her. December, 4th She wakes up earlier than usual to hear some kind of strange rustle at her door. For a second she gets worried. „What is this? What if this is some kind of a maniac who stalks me and knows where I live?“ she tries to push the stupid thought away. „Who is there?” she asks loudly and hears loud steps running away down the stairs. She rushes to the door, opens it and sees a cup of coffee and a croissant. “Hey, wait!!!” she was about to run downstairs, but then remembered she was only wearing her nightgown. She rushed towards the window, but she could only see the other side of the street out of it.. “Shit..” She took the hot cup of coffee in her arms and smelled the amazing aroma, croissant was still warm. “What if it’s poisoned?” Amelie was getting herself nuts with worry by now. For a second she thought to pour the coffee into the sink. “Wait, but the gloves, and the candle and the book… Doesn’t look like this someone wants to hurt me.” The smell of the croissant and the coffee was so amazing, her stomach made a loud sound, she took a sip and a big bite from the croissant. “Mmm, heaven…” she was sitting there and finishing all of it. “I need to find out whom it is from and why,” she decides. As she is back from work in the evening, first thing she does it writing a note: “Thank you, the breakfast was amazing. Who are you? Shall me talk?” She puts the note out there in front of her door and goes to bed. It takes her ages to fall asleep, it’s by far after midnight as she does. December, 5th “Oh, crap!!!” She overslept. Still the first thing she does is rushing towards her door to check for some answers. Her note is gone and there is a big advent calendar from Lindt at her door. “Advent… True… I forgot” she opens all 5 doors to find all sorts of chocolate inside. “This someone seems to play a game with me. Ok, then I will not go to bed until I find out…” she says to herself as she texts her work some excuse for being late. She sits by the door from evening till late at night trying to find out when this mysterious gift giver would appear, but soon the burden of the work week makes her eyelids heavy. “I think he (or is it even a He) comes early morning, I put the alarm clock for 4 a.m.,” she thinks and immediately falls asleep as her head touches the pillow. December, 6th She checks at 4 a.m - nothing, 5 a.m.- still nothing. She takes a shower and makes herself a coffee. After the one she drank that morning hers seems to be not at all tasty. 6 a.m and nothing at the door. She puts on her coat and walks out to the bakery next door. “Un café et un croissant,“ she says with a bad french accent. „It’s on me,“ answers the barista in perfect English as he hands over her order to her. „Oh, no need, seriously. I pay for it“ she can’t understand why she is irritated again. „I know you can. But please let me go it. Tomorrow is the first Advent,“ he smiles at her. „Oh, is this you?!“ she asks impatiently „What do you mean?“ „That’s you putting all these presents by my door!“ „I’m sorry, I don’t know what you are talking about. I am just trying to be good during this advent time,” he paused. “And grateful.” “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I am sorry, I didn’t have enough sleep,” she feels ashamed and stupid now. “I understand,” he smiled again watching her sip her coffee. There was nothing at her door that day. Not on the next day either. December, 8th Her alarm clock rings and she wakes up tired and sad. “Another Monday,” she thinks and goes towards the door. Nothing. She doesn’t know why, but she feels as if she is about to cry. “I am just trying to be good and grateful,” the words echo in her ears. She looks in the mirror. “Thank you,“ she says to herself. Quickly she starts putting her clothes on, rushes out of her flat and takes the bus in the opposite direction from her work. She enters the big store, the only one opened at this early hour. „I take this scarf,“ she says. „This tea and those cookies. Are they hand-made?“ As she enters the bakery, there’s no barista to see. „Here!“ she says to the waitress. „Pass it on to your barista. And tell him “Amelie says “Sorry” and “Thank you,” she is about to run away from the bakery. “Which barista? There is no barista in our bakery, mam.” Puzzled and totally astonished Amelie grabs the scarf and leaves the place. After work she wraps the tea carefully in the nice Christmasy paper and goes downstairs. She puts the tea in front of the door of her elderly neighbor and walks away. “Tomorrow I will give him the cookies. And then I need to think what’s next,” she thinks and smiles to herself. December, 24th She looks through her window and watches the elderly neighbor crossing the street. She sees him wearing the scarf she gave him and smiles. The neighbor smiles, too. Not at her, just at someone else he sees across the street. “I have never seen him smiling,” she thinks to herself. “That’s good. That’s what the gifts are for. To give.” The doorbell catches her off guard. “Who’s there?” she asks, but there’s silence. As she opens the door, she cannot keep the smile. “Barista,” she says with her voice soft. “I thought I dreamt you. Come on in. I have so much to thank you for.”