Kali Ferstien was not your average kid. Strange things always seemed to happen when she was around. For example black cats loved to follow her, things always seemed to go wrong when she was around and finally she had never had a friend.

As if all of this was not bad enough, since her parents divorced and she moved in with her dad, her and her mother had not spoken. This has gone on for over five years. Sometimes she wished her mother would write or call, and other times she was perfectly ok with it.

This is why when Kali arrived home to find a letter from a mystery person on her door she was completely shocked. For she knew no one that would send her a letter. But if she was shocked to get a letter, she was even more shocked when she opened it. For written on it was…

Dear Kali, my love,
I watch you from afar and I see you all alone.
This breaks my heart, why should a beautiful girl like you be left alone in this world.
I love you Kali, you may not know who I am, but know I love you. You will find out my name, day you come home and find the 21st roses on your door step.
Love,
…

Kali had never received any letter before, let alone a love letter. She sat on her couch to think if she knew anyone it could be from. She could not think of one person, this stumped her. What she was even more baffled about was who would ever call her beautiful.
She had reddish-brown hair which she usually took to dying midnight black that hung pin straight to the middle of her back. She was average height, with pale green eyes. Sure she was not ugly, but she had never thought of herself as beautiful.
It was getting late when Kali decided what the letter was. This must be some sick joke thought Kali. Yes that what this is some cruel sick joke. But as she lied in her bed, she began almost to hope it was not a joke, but a true love letter.
She woke up the next morning hoping to find 21 roses on the doorstep. But to her dismay she found one rose containing a card that said, “T”. That was it just the letter “T”.
She went off to school wondering what “T” meant. She wished that when she arrived home she would find a note explaining what “T” meant.
She arrived home to find her wish granted. On her doorstep, in the same spot the letter was yesterday was another envelope addressed to her.
She picked it up and brought inside. Unlike the day before she did not rip it open quickly. Instead she debated if she should open it at all. For she felt it better to believe someone loved her, rather than know the truth. She did not know what the note inside contained. It could be a letter saying what “T” meant, or a letter telling her that she was loved, or it could be a letter telling her what a fool she had been if she had thought someone really loved her.
To Kali the last option was too much; she knew if the letter was only a joke her heart would surely be broken. She felt it better not to know, so she did not open the letter.
But as the day wore on she found it harder and harder not to open her letter. For the good things the letter could say outnumbered the bad. As she was getting ready for bed, she could stand it know more. She tore open the letter. Written on it was…
To Kali, my love,
I hope you have received the single rose I left you. Do not lose the card because on the day the 21st rose arrives you will know who I am. The card(s) will hold the key. I love you.
Love,
…
Oh how relieved Kali was, to know that the letter did not tell her of how dumb she was to think someone loved her.
Kali was not normally one to like going to bed, because she knew when she woke up she would still be the same pitiful person she was the night before. But this night, she drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Dreaming of who her lover might be, and what they might look like. She awoke many times that night; hoping morning would come soon so that she could find out if her lover left her something.
Finally morning came and with it another rose. This one holding a card that said “O”. “Tom,” she thought, “My loves name is Tom.”
This was proved wrong when the next day the rose she expected to say “M” said, “K”. “TOK, okay,” she thought, “What kind of name is TOK?” It was then she remembered that her lovers name would not be revealed until she had received 21 roses.
She went on receiving one rose every day. Until the letters spelling out the phrase …
“Tokaliiloveyoulovemom”
“Wow,” said Kali, “That is one strange name. Maybe I need to decode it or something.” I was then she recognized her name Kali in the letters.

“That’s it,” Kali stated suddenly very excited, “it’s a message that I must find where words end and start!” She knew in a matter of minutes she would know who her lover was.

A short while later, she had decoded the message. As she found out what it said her heart felt as though it had shattered into 100,000 pieces. For the letters when put into words made a sentence basically spelling out that she was a fool for thinking some person she did not know cared about her. For the sentence read…
To Kali,
I love you.
Love,
Mom