The invitations arrive in boxes. They appear when the clock strikes twelve – noon, not midnight. It would be tragic if these invitations were lost in the dark or stolen by the greedy stars. The boxes are made of pure white wood and are the width of a page. Exclamations of wonder fill the air as people all over the city find the boxes on doorsteps and windowsills. At the top of each box, snowflakes are carved and the recipients' names are imprinted with fiery seals on the sides. Before, the atmosphere was filled with cold and mist, but now it is filled with the magic of all that could happen.
Some open the boxes immediately, quickly untying the red velvet ribbons that keep the wood closed in place of a lock. Others are not in such a hurry. Boxes like these have never appeared so simply in Valenta before. Many want to savor the moment when their beautiful boxes arrive in farmhouses and castles and apartments overlooking snow-covered streets and streets full of vendors who now can’t wait to go home and see if they too have received boxes.
