About 6 weeks ago, when the fall weather was still very nice (Note: we had 6" of fresh powder on the driveway this morning.), I arrived home to find a couple of sprigs of lavender desert sage flowers tied with two bits of ribbon and placed on the doormat. There was no note accompanying the tiny bouquet.
I tried to think of who might have done this in a kind way, but I failed. I have one neighbor who's likely to do spontaneous nice things, but her garden does not contain this type of plant, and she's not really the crafty sort. (This morning she and her son shoveled a fair chunk of my part of the sidewalk before I got out to clean up the snow; that's the sort of nice thing she does.) I have two other friends who live nearby, but one's going through a really tough time, and the other's more inclined to leave books than flowers.
As a junior high teacher, I am naturally suspicious. I wondered if the flowers had been dusted with a chemical or sprayed with cat urine or -- who knows? Thus, I left them on the doorstep for a couple of days until they dried, then I took a shovel and disposed of them into the trash.
No one has ever mentioned them to me, so I still have no idea whether they came from friend or foe -- or from someone who got the wrong house altogether.
I'd forgotten about them until I went to get the mail yesterday -- and found a box of soup mix. Yup. Chicken enchilada soup mix. It was commercially packaged but a brand I've never heard of before. There was no note attached, nor was there any advertising flyer announcing this as a free sample. In fact, there wasn't even any mail in the mail box. Nothing. Just a box of soup mix.
There is, of course, no way in heaven or heck I'd eat something so suspicious, so the recyclable parts will be recycled, and the rest will be trashed. (I hope it's not poisoned, but, just to be safe, I won't put it into the compost bin, but into the trash.)
Still, the mystery remains. Are these two odd "gifts" somehow connected? If yes, how? If not, why I am the recipient of two such odd things? And, either way, why soup mix, of all things? And why has no one left notes or ads?
I feel a bit like I'm living in a cozy mystery novel right now.
The plot thickens.....
Weird. I had a garden gnome show up on my front porch once, but I eventually found out who it came from.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, let me ponder this a bit.
Lavender desert sage. Two pieces of ribbon. On the doormat.
Chicken enchilada soup mix. In the mailbox.
I'm sure they are connected. They were left there by a 5'-7" Polynesian male somewhere in his mid 30's. From the way the ribbons were tied (yes, I never saw them, but I'm inferring) he is left-handed and is missing the pinky finger on his right hand. He has some medical training, the chicken soup implies that he is concerned about your health. He is also very religious, as lavender sage has spiritual meaning.
His purpose is not clear yet, maybe after a couple more surprise gifts...
Why, thank you, Sherlock! Naturally, you must be right. Any guesses what the next surprise gifts will be? ;)
DeleteI won't be able to predict that until after you get it.
DeleteAh, predictions in hindsight! How clever of you.
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