I received Valentine’s gifts yesterday. I mean, everyone was receiving a Valentine’s gift. From a garden of flowers to a vineyard. From a mere handshake to a WhatsApp status. At least in my office, most people received something. It was a day of love. A day of making merry. A day of laughter and heartbreaks. I sat on my chair like a seed thrown by a disinterested farmer. Lonely.

The clock ticked. Outside, delivery folks were loitering about, delivering gifts to lucky ones. The sun came out in a red dress and shone so brightly. The weather was perfect. But me? Well, I was lonely, curled in the corner of my office with my heart in my hands. I didn’t expect any gift. I didn’t expect a love phone call. I didn’t expect to grace someone’s WhatsApp status. I expected the day to end and I go home to watch a TV series.

Suddenly, I received a phone call from the receptionist. She said there was a package for me. I checked on the calendar, just to make sure it wasn’t April Fools’ Day. I bundled down the stairs hurriedly to pick the package as though my life depended on it.

And there it was; neatly wrapped. A bottle of Chivas. Flowers. And some love thingamajigs. There was a note. I couldn’t tell the handwriting. But it read ‘Happy Valentine’s Day, my love. Kisses.’ I re-read the note. I was stunned. Surprised, too. I was shocked. I felt my heart skip a beat and fall in my bowels, because I didn’t expect such.

My office friends trolled me and gave me ideas. They said I should go on social media and announce whoever had lost their package to pick it. I replayed the note in my mind, but I couldn’t get my head around it properly. Whose gifts are these? I wondered and wandered in equal measure. Restless, my hands on my head. I walked to the loo and stared at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t find the results.

I dropped back in my chair and waited for a phone call of the sender, but nothing came. I combed my social media platforms for a signal, but mama didn’t show it to me. I celebrated my Valentine’s Day in total shock. Evening crawled in and there was no signal of the sender yet. Everyone went zilch. I posted the pictures on my WhatsApp status, but no one responded to them. I felt loved yet hated. I felt admired yet unclaimed. I received the gifts, but I still felt lonely.

I called all my friends who are girls to, you know, shake the tree and see which fruit can fall. But they had no idea who it was. I mean, they knew I was single. And they didn’t offer any constructive feedback. They left me in a pool of confusion with flowers wilting in my hands. I called my parents, but they had no idea it was Valentine’s Day. I called my sister, but she couldn’t be the one playing games on me. Plus, she knows I am not a huge fan of Chivas. I went back home, sat on my couch, poured a shot of Chivas and asked myself, "Whose gifts are these?”

editorial@newtimes.co.rw