CHAPTER 5 — A Red Envelope from Nowhere
614 Words
Snow clung to Arielle’s coat as she hurried home, rushing past the flutter in her chest left behind by Noah Frost’s smile. She told herself it was nothing. A coincidence. A glitch in her eternal holiday curse.
But the moment she reached the small porch of her apartment building, something red caught her eye.
A bright, impossible shade of red—
resting neatly on her doormat.
A single envelope.
No footprints in the snow.
No mail carrier in sight.
No neighbor walking past.
Just… waiting.
Arielle paused, heart thumping. The edges of the envelope shimmered slightly, as if dusted with gold. That was ridiculous—it had to be the porch light—except the porch light above her head had burned out weeks ago.
Cautiously, she picked up the envelope.
It was warm.
Against the freezing winter air, warm.
Her name curved across the front in elegant handwriting she didn’t recognize.
Arielle North
For Immediate Delivery
Her breath caught.
“Who…?” she whispered.
The paper felt thick, expensive, almost velvety. She slid a finger under the seal—an embossed symbol of a sleigh and a star—and opened it.
Inside was a single card, written in the same shimmering ink:
---
Dear Arielle,
This holiday, your luck will change.
But only when your heart does.
Magic follows love.
Love follows courage.
Use the gift wisely.
— S. Claus
---
Arielle almost dropped it.
“What? No. No way. This is—this is some prank.”
Her voice wobbled, sounding more unsure than annoyed.
She flipped the card over.
On the back, another message appeared.
Appeared.
She was certain the space had been blank just a second before.
---
It’s not a prank, Arielle.
It’s a beginning.
---
Arielle’s knees nearly buckled.
The card glowed faintly, a soft golden pulse, like a heartbeat syncing with her own… and then the light faded, leaving it an ordinary red card.
Snow swirled around her as she stared at it, throat tight.
“This can’t be real,” she whispered. “Magic? Santa? A gift? For me?”
She thought of the shattered ornaments, the exploded lights, the jinx that followed her like a shadow. Magic didn’t pick her—if anything, it avoided her.
But the warmth in her hands said otherwise.
Footsteps approached behind her, crunching in the snow. Arielle startled, clutching the envelope as she turned—
Just Mrs. Juniper Hale, her landlady, carrying a pot of steaming cocoa.
“Oh, darling, you got it,” Mrs. Hale said with a knowing smile.
Arielle blinked. “Got… what?”
“That.” Mrs. Hale nodded toward the envelope.
“You know what this is?”
Mrs. Hale simply winked. “Some people receive packages. Some receive letters. But the lucky ones… they receive magic.”
Arielle swallowed. “Why me?”
Mrs. Hale’s eyes softened, gentle and bright. “Because even the unluckiest hearts deserve a miracle.”
Before Arielle could ask anything else, Mrs. Hale shuffled away, leaving her standing in the drifting snow, the red envelope glowing faintly against her palm.
Arielle clutched the card to her chest, suddenly aware of a strange sensation beneath her ribs:
A spark.
A tug.
A pull toward… something.
Or someone.
Her cheeks warmed.
“Noah Frost,” she whispered.
She had no idea why she said his name.
But deep in the quiet winter night, the magic inside the envelope seemed to hum in agreement.
And far across town inside a cozy bookstore café, a snow globe on Noah’s counter glowed for the first time in years.
Even if neither of them knew it yet…
Christmas magic had already chosen them.
- Writer
