At my old workplace, we did a Secret Santa with a $10 spending limit, and I didn’t know much about the person I was buying for. At the last minute, I found a second-hand copy of Oliver Twist for $10 at a bookstore and decided to buy it.

During the gift exchange, I noticed a woman in tears and heard people asking about her Secret Santa. I approached her, revealed myself, and she hugged me, overwhelmed with emotion.

She shared that ten years ago, her house had burned down, destroying all her belongings, including that exact book. The edition I had given her was the same one, with the same weathered marks, as if it had been taken from her shelf before the fire.