confetti

About ten years ago now, my friend Tavya and I decided we wanted to do something to show our friend Crystal how much we appreciated her. Crystal had been through a particularly rough season, so we thought, why not do something really nice for her? And in our own unique style we set about doing just that.

The process was, of course, rather complicated. We needed to obtain Crystal's house key and several large packets of Valentine-themed confetti (though it was nowhere close to February), as well as arranging to keep her out of her own house for several hours. After some serious plotting, recruiting another person (a mutual friend visiting from out of town), and one failed attempt, we were in.

So on a quiet evening, while Crystal and her friend ate a nice dinner at Blue Adobe Grill, Tavya and I practiced our ninja skills. We snuck into her house and hid tiny pink and red confetti hearts and the words "I love you" in every conceivable nook and cranny in Crys's home: every shelf, in every drawer, between the sheets, in the very back plastic tub on the top shelf in her linen closet, in pots and pans, under the potted plants, between CD cases... anywhere and everywhere. After depleting our entire supply, we took a look around to be sure there were no obvious signs of our visit, then took off.

The next day, I got a call from Crys, telling me how she'd walked into the house and spotted a tiny red heart on the floor. She thought this was very strange. She went on to say she'd found a few others. I didn't think she had discovered the identity of her pranksters, and she never seemed anything but grateful for the act. And many years later, after I had returned from China, she called me, laughing. "Steph, do you know what I just found in my favorite book? One of the hearts you left me. Thanks. I love you, too."

:)