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An unexpected gift from a secret Santa arrived on the day that Lia had finally decided to marry her boyfriend. He had proposed over a week ago and even though Lia's initial reaction was a mixture of surprise and blissful joy - afterall the little girl in her had always dreamed of marrying the love of her life - her enthusiasm had subsided over the last few days. It was in those dull everyday moments that doubt crept in and made her question her love for the man that she had spent a majority of her adult life with. It came to her when she woke up to the sound of him carelessly clattering around in the bathroom at 5 in the morning, it echoed back from the corners of her mind when she got home from work and all she heard from the crouched down figure in front of his gaming PC was: "Hello, love. What's for dinner?", and it kept her from falling asleep next to him even when the exhaustion of the day weighed heavily on her and every fibre of her body yearned for sleep. Lia didn't want to admit it to herself but she had fallen out of love with Steve a while ago. There hadn't even been any fateful events that made her change her perception of him - she didn't catch him cheating, he wasn't particularly rude towards her or anything of that sort - falling out of love with Steve was more like a vague and subtle downslide. He wasn't particularly loving towards her either, as if their bond had become so natural to him that at this point he didn't see any perks in putting much effort into their relationship anymore. Looking back, even his proposal had seemed kind of half-hearted. One night when the both of them were laying in bed side by side, watching TV, he had just turned to her and simply popped the question. Nothing wrong with that of course, but Lia had always dreamed of something more... grand. Like a romantic sunset on the beach where she would turn around to find him kneeling before her in the sand with a ring in his hands and undying love in his eyes. But all of her friends and coworkers had told her how lucky she was to have found a decent guy like Steve and Lia thought that maybe they were right. Maybe she should just be happy about the proposal and accept it. Afterall, she wasn't getting any younger and maybe it was time to settle. She had loved Steve once, maybe she would love him again. Or at least, be somewhat content with him.So, today was the day she would finally accept his proposal, Lia had decided. As if fate wanted to give her a gentle nudge in the right direction, today was also the day that a lovingly wrapped present waited for Lia on the doormat in front of the flat. This was her day off from work and she was just on her way to go grocery shopping when she found it sitting there, wrapped in dark green paper, her favourite color. Lia picked it up. She took her shoes and coat off again and returned to the empty living room with the ominous package in hand. Sitting down on the couch, Lia stared at it for a moment in a joyful kind of disbelief. There was a little tag on it that simply read: "For my love, from your secret Santa". That was so corny and lovely at the same time that Lia had trouble believing it could actually stem from Steve. But it had to, who else would call her 'my love'?Full of curiosity, Lia unwrapped the gift and a beautiful book slid onto her lap. Its cover was of the same lush green as the wrapping paper and there were golden ornaments elegantly framing the bold letters that spelled out the title: "Her Decision".Lia traced the shiny letters with a finger, before finally opening the book. Her jaw dropped when she read the first sentence."An unexpected gift from a secret Santa arrived on the day that Lia had finally decided to marry her boyfriend."She stared at the page. What the hell was that? What was going on right now?Not knowing what else to do, Lia simply kept reading. The words sucked her in and her eyes widened with every single sentence she read. It was a description of everything she'd been thinking about today before finding the book, all written down like a story; her doubts about marrying Steve, her decision to do it anyway. How was that even possible? Lia looked up from the page and scanned the living room as if expecting to see someone who would be able to explain to her what the hell was going on. When she looked down again, she saw some new words appearing on the page."Lia found herself standing at a crossroad. Her decision would determine what path the rest of her life would take. Marrying Steve felt like the right choice now but what if she grew to regret it? She didn't want to wake up one day, wondering what could've been if she instead had put herself first on that fateful day."Lia slammed the book shut and let it drop to the carpet where it landed with a muffled thump. Her heart was racing in her chest and her gaze wandered around the living room again. But all she could see was the trace of blurry letters on the white wall opposite her, like an afterimage of the text she had just read. But beyond the letters, Lia thought for a brief moment that she saw the outline of a face, too blurry to make out any distinctive features but if you had seen the face, you probably would've recognised yourself, dear reader.Lia stares at you through the letters and you stare back, both of you ignoring the absurdity of this situation. Fictional characters usually don't sense that they are part of a story and readers usually don't partake in it either. But right now the edges between fiction and reality soften, and you and Lia look at each other for a split second through a tear in the fabric of matter. "Should I do it? Should I marry him?", Lia asks you, whispering softly like the two of you are the only ones in on a secret, which, in a way, is exactly what you are.It doesn't matter if you nod or shake your head right now or even take the time to think about some comforting words for her, because as you decide what to reply, Lia blinks and your image and the letters disappear from her living room wall. When she looks down to the carpet, the green book is gone, too. Maybe it's for the better. This should be her decision afterall. She needs a moment to recollect - to say that whatever just happened was confusing would be an understatement - but when she regains her sense of self, Lia rises from the couch and finally, for the first time in a week, she feels that her mind is made.She goes to tell Steve about her decision and with every step she takes towards her future, the memory of the mysterious book and her brief encounter with you faints as if it had never happened at all. But maybe you will remember Lia. And maybe it will help you to know that putting herself first that day was what ultimately made her happy. At the end, she didn't compromise her dreams to settle for a mediocre man and neither should you.

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Her Decision

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Her Decision

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