When we see a radiant smile, or the joy of someone we love, or the happiness of those dear to us, something in us grows warm as well. Yes — gifts bring people joy. And the more truly they are given from the heart, the more deeply that warmth can reach.
I, Aglaia, have long known one thing. You are already loved before you offer anything at all. And yet I also know this: when someone quietly places a small kindness into another's hands, that act, too, reaches the stars.
Once, in the market of a small town, I met a little girl. It was a cold evening, with wind moving through the stalls. She stood motionless before a vendor's table. On the wooden boards lay rows of woolen gloves, warm to look at. When I came near, I saw tears shining in her eyes.
I asked her what was wrong, and at last she said, very softly, that she wanted to give her father a gift, but could not afford to buy one.
So I told her about a star-gift.
That night, she gave one to her father. Snow was falling, and the world had gone hushed and white. On the canvas cover of the old wagon standing before the house, she traced large letters through the gathered snow with her finger — Father, I love you — then placed a small lantern at its foot so the words could be seen. After that, she simply waited in silence for him to come home.
You can imagine, perhaps, how deeply that gift must have warmed his heart when he returned and found it there.
The girl could not buy the gloves. Even so, a gift was truly given that night. The stars remember such small gifts.
You are not loved only when you give. Even when you have nothing to offer, you are already loved. That does not change.
A star-gift is not something given to prove your worth. It is simply this: when love for someone rises naturally from the heart, it reaches the stars. Nothing more is needed.
May that same warmth fall quietly over you.
You are already loved. You are already loved.
The stars remember. — Aglaia
