When I went out to my car this morning, my heart literally sank. There was a charred pine branch stuck in the door handle, wrapped in a crumpled piece of paper. It was black and brown, as if it had been deliberately set on fire, then extinguished—and all of it had been stuffed into my door.

I admit it shook me. I expected to find something sinister, but I learned that it was actually a gesture of care. The strangest thing is that to this day I don't know who made it or why they left it on my car.

But after that day, I started to look at strange signs differently—sometimes what scares us may actually be left with good intentions.