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Author: A.M Wynter.
last update Last Updated: 2025-08-19 18:22:02

POV: Emerald

It arrived early.

Before the sun had fully crested the skyline, before Ursula barged in with her caffeine-fueled battle plan, before the hairstylist rolled in her equipment like a military-grade arsenal of curling wands and floral pins.

A delivery box.

Wrapped in understated white, tied with a slate-gray ribbon that reminded me of rain.

No sender listed.

Just my name.

Inside the envelope taped to the lid was a card. Clean handwriting.

Emerald,

This is not a goodbye.

This is just me, from a safe distance, rooting for your joy.

With peace and pride—

—Matthew.

My chest fluttered, then stilled.

I set the card down gently, reverently, like something fragile, and opened the box.

Inside, nestled in soft linen, was a gift I never would’ve expected.

A snow globe.

Inside the glass: a miniature of the old bookstore in Paris we once wandered into during a business trip. The one with creaky floorboards and handwritten notes in all the paperbacks.

I lifted it slowly, shook it once.

Fl
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