Chapter 1: The Package

JADE:

It came to the house one day – the shoes I was dying to have.

Never did it occur to me that this pair of footwear could take me to secrets far beyond my own imagination...

With my heart palpitating from a mixture of excitement and the thrill of receiving a prize, even if it as from someone unknown, I dialed the store’s number. I really did not expect that such goods would be delivered to where I now live.

After two rings and a click, I heard a mechanical but cheery voice on the other line. “Hello, this is Madie’s Online Store. How may I help you?”

“I think there’s been a mistake,” I began. I explained the weird circumstance to the customer service representative.

She listened patiently to my voice. “Let me go ahead, and check the system, ma’am.” I waited eagerly as she seemingly typed several things on her end of the line.

“Thank you for patiently waiting. I think there’s been a misunderstanding, ma’am. I’m afraid that we didn’t deliver anything to your registered address here. May I confirm your address?”

“It’s at Unit fifty six, Sunnyside Dormitory, Molave Drive, Makati City,” I hastily replied. What was happening? Did I hear her say it correctly?

“There are no delivery records for that address. Do you have any other registered addresses?”

“No, I didn’t register any other address,” I breathlessly said. “Besides, it’s not possible. The box was delivered to this address. I saw these exact shoes in your online store, and it wasn’t sold to any other stores as far as I know. How can that be the case,” I replied half-mumbling to myself.

Yes, I was new to this dormitory. After commuting for three hours for two straight years in college, I finally threw the towel and asked my mom and dad if I could live in a dormitory near my school.

This was the first time I had registered this as my official address for an online store, and my first taste of sweet independence, so I deliberately set this address up as the delivery address for Madie’s, my favorite store.

There were faint typing sounds at her end of the line again. “Upon double checking, ma’am, we really didn’t deliver any items to the house you mentioned. Our system does not show any shipment to your address.”

“I see,” was all I could reply before we formally said good bye and dropped the call.

What was I thinking? Of course, it couldn’t possibly be from Madie’s. I checked the site everyday for a month scouting for this one-of-a-kind pair of red shoes. I was only a minute late one fine Thursday when it hit the market, and after an hour, it was already sold out. I wasn’t able to place an order for the shoes I dreamt so strongly of having.

‘Maybe there’s a clue here somewhere,’ I said to myself. I looked at the brown box containing the red shoes. I flipped it on all sides until I was convinced that there indeed weren’t any return addresses. There was just my name and my address neatly typed on top of it. There were no suspicious markings around it too.

I looked once more at the shoes that came inside that box, sitting at the top of my drawer. I extend my hands to it like it was the most precious thing in the world. I fingered its smooth and shiny exterior and the interior that looked new.

‘Correction,’ I told myself. It looked almost new… The black mother pearl at the center of the left shoe was missing, but apart from that, it was so damn perfect!

I slipped it on my feet and admired myself in front of the mirror. I was wearing a checkered, navy blue cardigan and a dark blue tennis skirt. Like magic, the shoes blended perfectly together with them.

I turned around several times in pure admiration of my divine footwear. They fit me so well! They really seemed like they were made for me. This must be luck!

“Ahh, but how can I keep such a thing,” I debated loudly with myself. These were limited edition shoes, and someone had paid a hefty amount to have them. How can I possibly keep them here and not get bugged by my guilty conscience?

While I was still stuck in a moral dilemma, the door bell rang. I hurriedly checked through the peep hole and was ecstatic to see my best friend.

“Where is it? Let me see those beauties,” Dianna exclaimed.

She had been my best friend since elementary school, and of course we shared a common love for everything beautiful, especially shoes.

I walked around in front of her like a proud runway model.

“Oh my! They are really lovely! You should keep them, Jade!”

“Do you really think so,” I said, my apprehension kicking in once again, “I mean I don’t know where they’re from, plus the mother pearl in front is missing.” I stretched out my left leg as I said the last bit.

Instead of frowning, Dianna smiled back at me. “Nonsense, Jade! I got you covered!” She rummaged through the small purse she took with her.

“Here you go,” she said, showing me a round imitation pearl which was the exact size and color of the one that was amiss.

My eyes widened. “Whoa, where did you get this?”

“This looks just like the real one, don’t you think? No one will notice even if we used this,” she said.

I hugged Dianna, thankful that she always gets everything figured out even when I haven’t even said anything. “Thanks, bestie,” said.

She was all smiles. “You’re always welcome, bestie! Now, let’s go ahead and fix this, shall we?” With this, Dianna produced a small tube of superglue from her purse.

“You really are a girl scout,” I said.

“Hah, I can even beat any girl scout when it comes to my trustworthy sense of preparedness,” she joked. She applied an ample amount of superglue on the mother pearl and stuck it perfectly at the center of the left shoe.

“You’re really lucky, bestie! You know how expensive they are, right?”

“Ugh, don’t keep reminding me about it… I already feel so guilty as it is,” I said.

“Why would you feel guilty for? It’s not as if you stole them!”

“Well, if I keep them like these, isn’t it stealing too?” My stomach tightened as I said this. I was thinking, was I really luck? If so, why do I feel a little uneasy about the shoes?

“That’s crap! They fell to your hands, so they are yours. Wasn’t the package addressed specifically to you? Besides, you’ve waited months for this, and you didn’t even get a chance to place an order. Think of this as a gift instead to all your hard work.”

Dianna must be right. Although a feel a little uncomfortable with this situation, I must admit that I did love the shoes, and I worked so hard to get a pair of them! It was just that it was sold out so fast that I didn’t even get a chance to click the online button and add it to my cart.

I scratched my head in embarrassment. “A gift? Well, if you out it that way, I guess I could just accept it… After all, it might really have been meant for me.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Despite having heard this, my heart still felt a tad uneasy, and I ended up over thinking about the shoes until it was time for bed.

“Hah, I should stop worrying about this now and just go to sleep,” I mumbled softly to none in particular. Finally, I was able to close my eyes and was able to drift into a peaceful slumber.

However, the peace I thought I had won’t stay for long.