Walking in the front doors of the graying office, I feel as if I'm ready to go home already. After slogging through at least an hour of traffic, long lines at Starbucks, and the never-ending downpour of rain that always seems to plague the sky above my head, I think I'm mentally done for the day. I shuffle to the elevator, my clothes slightly damp and hair all askew, and make my way up to my floor. As the doors to the elevator open with an overly cheerful ‘ding!’, I look out over what seemed to be an endless sea of cubicle units.A cube-farm if there ever was one.
I carelessly fling my little backpack on the floor next to my swivel chair and slump into it, closing my eyes to prep myself for the coming day. I take a deep breath in and slowly open my eyes, ready (-ish) to face the day. As I look over my desk, I spy a curious sight. There’s a cookie on my desk. I stare at it for a good long while as if expecting it to announce why it was lying there among the TPS reports and knick-knacks that already littered my desktop. It looked like it was homemade, slightly deformed but delicious despite this fact. A simple chocolate chip cookie sitting on a napkin presumably from the break room.
As I reach for it, I realize it's still warm to the touch. A smile creeps its way up my face as I hold it up and take my first tentative bite. I close my eyes again as the feeling and taste nearly overwhelm me after the obnoxious day I've had already. With my will to exist bolstered up by this little gesture, I get my laptop out and start my work for the day the smile leaving my face, but not my memory. Throughout the day, I ask a couple coworkers if someone had a birthday today that I missed or something that would explain why that little dessert was sitting upon my desk when I showed up this morning. They all looked at me curiously and shook their heads saying that there was nothing special about today as far as they knew. But they were all wrong, today was special, even more so when I found that no one else had a cookie awaiting them this morning, someone took the time to make my day special and I wanted to thank them for it.
The next day comes, just as soul numbing as the one before, but as I make my way to my desk I crane my neck and walk a little bit faster, trying to see if there's anything on my desk this morning. I know it's dumb to think whoever left one yesterday would continue to do so for any amount of time. My spirits are dampened by the time I actually get to my desk but lo and behold, there sits another warm, gooey, chocolate chip delight right upon my mouse pad. I hurriedly sit down and look around to see if anyone is watching, trying to see if this mysterious cookie fairy hung around. I saw nothing out of the ordinary so I grinned to myself as I ate yet another wonderful baking masterpiece.
For the rest of the week, I was pleasantly surprised by these magical treats. They came in different flavors occasionally, but were delicious nonetheless. Weeks turn into months and my mornings have become infinitely more enjoyable.
I had tried showing up at different times to catch my little cookie fairy but no matter what, I would always find one sitting upon my desk when I arrive for the day. I've left notes asking for the identity only to get nothing in response. I finally accept my secret benefactor and just start leaving sticky notes with a little thank you or a doodle I drew while I ate my daily treat. I left them in the same spot that the cookie appeared and sure enough, my caricature of me eating a big snickerdoodle was gone the next morning and in its place rested an all chocolate double chunk surprise that looked heavenly. Weeks turned into months as I traded my little doodles for a warm cookie in the morning. When the monotony seemed to finally be setting in, a little box had apparently displaced my morning cookie.
I stared at it, almost dumbstruck. Was this from my cookie fairy? I slowly approach the box, letting my bag slide off my shoulder and onto the ground next to me. As I sit in my chair, I reach to the box, about the size of a deck of cards, I flick the small brass latch open and lift the lid to peer inside, half expecting my regular cookie to be resting inside. I didn't find a cookie but a small folded note and what appeared to be a glossy photograph. I took the photograph out first and held it up, my eyebrows scrunched in confusion as I realized what exactly I was holding. It was a pristine, high quality photograph taken from Rick Astley’s, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ music video. Had I just gotten physically rick rolled? I was even more confused now so I took out the note that would hopefully hold all the answers to who my cookie fairy was and what the picture meant. Scenarios flashed through my head maybe the hottest person in the office has had a secret crush on me all this time or some little old lady saw that I was sad and baked for me every day to make me feel better. As I opened the note and read the loopy typed cursive font, my eyes widened.

"I farted on every cookie".

The cookies stopped coming after that thankfully, no one came forward and the culprit was never found. I went to HR and complained but they said nothing could be done, none of the cameras faced my desk. I don't know who it was and I guess I never will. This has haunted me, day and night, to this very day.