In small boxes.

Like mint sandwiched in Andes. Or granola in a sea of cereal. Or consideration that reduced perhaps the most stupid mistakes into three. Or going home to a fridgeful of of my fave foods after failing a Precalculus exam.

Surprises. :D

But this time, they're in different form. Like creases near the mouth that only show with the loudest laughter. Like eyebrows making tiny arcs and moving away from the eyes. A tiny smile that reminds me of an exam on Monday, but does so in a way I almost feel good. Like an assurance that being real justifies a lie. A lie that consumes faking things, which is perhaps another lie. Like so many familiar faces on a Wednesday. Like memories of first sem suddenly coming into mind. Silly jokes and group reports and friends among a bunch of strangers. Like sib on the same jeep. Like short talks with people I would've considered stranger if not for times like this.

And I do not jerk in astonishment. After all, surprises aren't only meant to happen in snaps of time. Sometimes they hit without impact, if only in the very moment they do so. I look back and it's like unwrapping a toy I've already played with. But somehow, it almost becomes new. It sparkles and the gleams present it in a different light.

And then the smile inside me nudges the corners of my mouth. They give in.