This was truly unexpected.

The mystery unfolded before my eyes as I carefully followed the numbered gifts, so cleverly accompanied by notes with hints and clues and puns.

The puns should have been my first hint of who my match was, but - no, impossible! The odds are astronomical!

So I pressed on, eying the familiar handwriting and the wonderful gifts, picked out so well that it felt my Santa truly knows me. Starting from wonderful treats for my bunny - his favourite, I assure you! - to delicious treats for me (om nom nom chocolate!) my Santa really nailed it with the goodies.

At the beautiful little book, "Steal like an artist", I was convinced my gifter did her research. And with more chocolate following that, I was ready to track them down and give them a huge hug. Unbeknown to me just yet, I already have.

Soft, beautiful bundles of brightly coloured felt came next, and my mind instantly began spinning with ideas for what to make with it. But then came the tea..

.. and everything began falling into place. There's a beautiful, curly haired little lady I went to college with, who has since moved away to make it big in California, who loves her tea, has beautiful handwriting, and has an even more beautiful soul. I haven't seen her since graduation, but in this digital age we've kept in touch - and it would appear she's kept a huge secret!

The thread next challenged me with a pun - and oh my god, there's only one person I know who can weave puns effortlessly as this.

I tore through the remaining gifts, flipping over the cards for more hints, but the biggest ones were in the gifts themselves. There was NO mistaking that art, the wonderful drawing of me in my TF2 pyro costume, and the one that came next..

.. the one of us.

Thank you, SO very much, Ashlyn! I miss you fiercely, though I know you're thriving out there in Cali. Thank you, thank you, for these wonderful gifts, and this beautiful surprise. I'm utterly speechless that our paths would cross again like this.