The Mystery

I received anonymous letters for a year. Handwritten, beautiful cursive, no return address. They arrived every month, each one containing a poem or a quote or a little piece of wisdom.\n\n"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." — Albert Camus\n\n"Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." — Marcus Aurelius\n\n"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper." — W.B. Yeats\n\nI asked my mailman. I asked my neighbors. Nobody knew who was sending them.\n\nI started to look forward to the letters. They came on random days, always a surprise. I kept them in a shoebox under my bed.\n\nAfter a year, the letters stopped. The last one said: "I hope these words found you when you needed them. With love, a secret friend."\n\nI never found out who sent them. I don't know if I ever will.\n\nBut sometimes, when I'm having a hard day, I open the shoebox and read a letter. And I feel grateful that somewhere in this world, someone took the time to send beauty to a stranger.\n\nKindness is never wasted. Even when it's anonymous.