Dear Sophie,
I’ve known you for a long while, and in that span of time, have, inevitably, fallen head over heels in love. You do know me, not closely, but in passing. We met two years ago, at a party, and since that wonderful evening when I first beheld you, your face has not left my mind’s eye. We have seen each other since then, in passing, and my heart thrills every time I hear your name. I wish to remain anonymous for a time, but I promise you, we shall meet again. May the days ever bring you happiness, and may the stars always shine for you.
Yours truly, M

               “Ooooh, Soph, this is sooo romantic! A secret admirer!” Carrie gushed “How’d he get that in here? I wonder if anyone saw him…. Hey, Liz! Did someone just deliver this to Soph’s desk?”
                “No ma’am, that was in her mailbox.”
“Drat. Well there goes our chance of finding out who he is. This time…” She chuckled evilly, already devising a plan to hook up her perpetually single best friend with this mystery man
“Carrie, who even knows if he’ll ever contact me again? This could all be an elaborate practical joke. It seems too good to be true. A secret admirer, me? Who would secretly admire ME?” Sophie questioned.
Carrie looked her up and down, took in all five-foot-three-inches, one hundred pounds of Soph, in her sleek, figure revealing jacket and pencil skirt, and blatantly laughed at her. “Well any guy with half a brain and eyes! Have you looked in a mirror recently chick? You are HOT!”
Sophie chuckled. “No, I’m not. I’m average.”
Carrie shook her head, then called out to a passing coworker. “Bill! Scale of one to ten, how hot is Sophie? Ten being amazing, one is ridiculously ugly.”
“Ten!”
“Rick, one to ten, Sophie’s hotness.”
“Nine and a half. Her ability to shamelessly best me in anything brings her down a half point,” he said with a wink.
“James, what do you think?”
“Ten babe!”
“See Soph? You’re hot, and that’s been confirmed by half the guys here. And me. I count for ten.”
Sophie laughed as her cheeks turned a delicate shade of rose. “You guys are so sweet.” She giggled and thanked them, then sat back down at her computer. “Have you finished that article yet, Carrie?”
“No, not quite,” the blonde muttered, and Sophie heard the quick chatter of keys. “Almost though, I’m wrapping it up.” Another few clicks, then Sophie’s computer bleeped at her. And IM window popped up, from carriehaileroxsox. :Have you thought of anyone yet?:
She replied, :No, but shouldn’t you be working?:
:Well…You’re more interesting. ^.^:
:Y’know what else is interesting? The three o’clock deadline we have for this article.:
:It’ll get done! You’re such a spoilsport sometimes, Soph! ; p What’re we doing for lunch?:
:I have to run to this little shop I found and drop off a stamp design. That new sub shop, Nellie’s, just opened up down there. How about that?:
:That sounds great. So.. whatcha doin?:
:Working. Which is what you should be doing. ^.^:
:Oh, I’m almost done. Like I said, I just have to wrap it up. Our lunch break’s in what, ten minutes? I’ll have it finished before then.:
:Alright, well, get it finished! Closing the window now..:
Sophie heard an exasperated sigh from Carrie’s cubicle, and chuckled softly to herself.

“Oh. My. God. Can you BELIEVE he asked me out? Well, practically. And now we’re going on a DATE!” Carrie squealed as she walked with Sophie to lunch.
                 Chuckling at her young-at-heart best friend, she signaled down a well lit side street. “That shop I was telling you about, it’s down here.”
                  “Can I see what you’re getting etched? Knowing your artistry skills, it’s probably something AMAZING.”
                   Sophie smiled and shook her head. “Nah, it’s just my initials, with a few accents. Here, lemme…” She trailed off, digging through her oversized purse for the quarter-folded piece of paper she’d doodled her design on. “Ah. Here it is!” She passed the sheet of printer paper to Carrie, who promptly unfolded it and stopped short. Sophie turned to Carrie, who was in the middle of the alleyway with a shocked expression on her face. “What is it, Care? It’s just a silly doodle, I scribble it sometimes when I’m bored.”
                   Carrie continued to stare at the one inch square “doodle.” It bore, as stated, a set of initials, SMF, in a much embellished, curly script. Each letter had its own special symbol that all seemed to tie it together. The S was surrounded by tiny little stars. The M, a bit smaller in comparison to the other two, had a moon peeking out from behind the right hand corner. The F had a rose laying across its top, the head falling slightly over the side in the direction of the M, a single leaf lying lazily somewhere in the middle. Swirls decorated the background, leaving just enough room for the initials in the middle. “Soph, it’s gorgeous! C’mon, lets get to that shop!” She began to sprint away, then stopped at the end of the alley, turning to look sheepishly at the redhead. “Um, which way?”
                  Laughing, Sophie hooked her arm through Carries, and steered her gently in the right direction.