My package arrived this morning! woohoo! After opening the carboard shipping box and wrapping paper, I discovered a key, a handsome (and very heavy) wooden lockbox with a ? mark on it, a candy bar, and a card (pictured).

The card reads:

What is mystery?

Possibility? Adventure? Escape?

Whatever mystery is, they are what make life intriguing.

The more revealed, the less you wonder.

The less you wonder, the more boredom sets in.

The mystery box is a gift.

A gift to remind you to keep mystery alive in your life.

Even though it may feel like torture at first,

There are times when mystery is more important than knowledge.

Every day, every moment is a choice

So I give you a crossroad.

The choice to open this box, or not is entirely yours.

wow. whack right?? So I guess I'll just have to wonder whats inside forever!!

OR NOT.

Because I am not capable of operating that way. So I thought about it, and the first thought that came to mind was that maybe my santa was a psycho and a bomb would go off if I opened the box. Actually, that wasn't my first thought, it was my friend's who was with me, but after he said that, I became slightly concerned. So I googled the sender's name, and he seemed to be a pretty respectable person who probably wouldn't try to kill people.

So my next thought was, well, it's probably an empty box and that is the point. The mystery is the exciting part. And then I immediately decided that if it is empty, I can use it for stuff, since the box is good looking anyway, and a great gift on its own. So I decided to open it. My friend left the room to make sure nothing exploded, and I turned my face as I slowly turned the key. I gently lifted the lid to peek inside and noticed something wrapped in celophane. Phew, no bomb, and it wasn't empty!!!

So what was inside? It is a book. But not just any book. This book is called S., written by Doug Dorst and was an idea conceived by J.J. Abrams (who is amazing). It is a story within a story... the book itself appears to be an old library book called "Ship of Theseus" and within the book are notes throughout the margins all the way through, and lots of supplemetary loose material within the pages, like newspaper clippings, and all kinds of stuff. It all looks so old and legit. As I mentioned on my preference profile, I have gone 100% digital when it comes to media like books, movies etc. but this is a completely new and unique experience and I can't wait to start reading! I am an avid genealogist, and based on the types of materials within the book, I'd say that this might be akin to the type of stories we piece together as genealogists.

SO AMAZING SANTA. I LOVE YOU. I can't even describe how perfect this gift is for me on multiple levels.

oh yeah, the candy bar was delicious, too.