Mom Shops at Goodwill, Can’t Believe What She Finds Inside Item: ‘Jail’

A thrifter has shared a heartfelt yet unsettling discovery she made during a trip to her local Goodwill.

Shopping in Central Ohio, Reddit user lil_secret stumbled upon the note while thrift shopping, looking for a big accordion folder to store her son’s preschool artwork. The note, which was alongside tax information documents, which she shredded, was written on a crumpled piece of paper and appeared to be from someone in jail.

“I keep a list of things I’m on the lookout for at the thrift store. I saw a nice big accordion folder the day I found the note and grabbed it without looking inside,” lil_secret told Newsweek. “When I brought it home and started to put my son’s drawings inside, I found a bunch of W-4s and this note. I immediately shredded and disposed of the W-4s but have kept on to the note for almost a year now… I can’t seem to toss it out!”

The letter writer appeared to be writiten to a former partner. It expresses longing, regret and a desire for reconciliation—while also revealing elements of past struggles with substance abuse and troubled relationships.

“You are still the only woman in the whole world I would want to have my child,” read one part of the note, while another line said: “I just know that I love you and I want you to be happy so my son can be happy also.”

The author referenced dreams of a future together, imagining a home with a big front porch, and expressing hope that the recipient’s current partner is treating her well.

Pictures of the note, which spanned two sides of the paper, gained attention on Reddit as people shared their reactions, and the majority were negative.

“Nope nope nope. That man hasn’t changed. He might be trying, but that’s still the same man that messed her up. I hope she found something better,” said one commenter.

While others said that the contents of the letter were “red flags.”

“I’m honestly kind of surprised but also not really surprised that multiple people thought they knew the people involved in this note,” the poster said. “I guess this kind of story isn’t uncommon.”

This is far from the first time a thrift store discovery has stunned the internet. Earlier this year a shopper in Milwaukee gained viral attention after finding a second copy of a uniquely designed cat figurine—three years after finding the first one at the same location.

While a man in Illinois stumbled on a once-in-a-lifetime discovery when he found a $4.99 Chinese porcelain plate that turned out to be an incredibly rare 18th century piece.