She lifted up the cover of the box carefully. Against her own better judgement, she found herself holding her breath, like a little girl opening a birthday present. She couldn't deny it, she was curious as to what the box might hold, even secretly pleased that someone was paying attention to her, spoiling her with precious little gifts.
...A jewelry box? Her breath caught as she fingered the ornate carvings on it. Faeries lept in the air, mysterious pan-boys blowing on their pipes, playing a tune she could almost hear, beautiful robins gaily flying in the midsummer scene...she gently opened it, the gold fastener that went round the whole rim, to reveal...she laughed.
She remembered the cheap music boxes she'd always admired from afar, something Lorelai had always said was 'uneccessary' and therefore barred from purchasing. That wasn't it though, Rory had always been attracted to those pink plastic ballerinas that skated the surface whenever you opened the giant-sized novelty box. They danced to their own tune, completely ignoring the gentle tinkling melody of Fur Elise or Love Story in the background, going round and round in dizzying circles. Rory used to stay in gift stores for ages, watching the ballerina skate around the surface of the mirror, exhausting the batteries of the music box, only stopping when Lorelai forced her to leave, or worse, when the shopkeeper gently guided her away from the store.
And so she realised that the jewelry box wasn't really a jewelry box, but instead a musical box. She heard an unidentifiable tune in the background, but what excited her most was the beautiful, ethereal faerie gliding over the surface of a mirror, painted to show a country scene, and a ring of mushrooms encompassing the dancing figure.
It was so beautiful, so delicate, Rory was afraid to put down the box for fear of cracking it. Proudly, she brought it back to her room and layed it on her bed, her eyes never leaving the faerie as she danced to the beautiful tune in the background. It was like a spell, cast on her, and she just relented...and then something caught her eye.
A red piece of paper, lying in the storage section of the box. It lay there innocently, and Rory felt like just leaving it there - she didn't want to wreck the present by worrying about it's giver, she just wanted to enjoy the music...but no, it was almost daring her to open it.
Sighing, she grabbed and unfolded the piece of paper.
"I love you.
Dean."
