Jessica Roberts wasn’t shopping for anything in particular when she and her young son browsed through the trinkets, toys, and tchotchkes at her local car boot sale (a sort of large, outdoor flea market). But a simple heart-shaped paperweight did catch the duo’s attention. Buying it was an easy choice, but finding out what to do with the thing after she learned what it really was? That was a much harder decision.
A Walk That Became More
Suburban mom Jessica Roberts was on a walk with her son, Braiden, when she saw that a car boot sale was happening. Never one to turn down a chance to browse through clothes, books, toys for her son, and more, the mom took a little detour. One item stood out to her young son — and it wasn’t a hot new toy.
This N’ That
While your average kid might’ve been allured by the bright games and toys, Jessica’s son looked right at a heart-shaped paper weight. Adorably, he thought it was the perfect gift for his mother, so he asked her to buy it. That way, he could later gift it to her (it’s the thought that counts)! Jessica obliged.
Only A Dollar
A ton of love from her young son, the paperweight was only about a dollar (50p in New Zealand) — a good investment to make Braiden beam. While the duo didn’t think of the heart as anything more than a paperweight, they soon found out otherwise.
Not A Paperweight
Jessica took the token of her son’s love and put it on her desk, where it served as, well, a paperweight. For years, she thought nothing of it, appreciating the little flourish of family it brought to her desk. That all changed one day while she was browsing the internet.
Years Passed
Years later after buying the paperweight, Jessica was browsing Amazon for fun, just looking at whatever knick-knacks came up in her feed. In her mindless scrolling, she saw the paperweight listed for $30. However, the product description made her uneasy.
Couldn’t Forget
She hadn’t bought a paperweight; Jessica had bought an urn! Jessica peered at the stone heart from the corner of her eye. “I thought to myself that there was no way there were remains inside,” she told Bored Panda. The thought of someone’s ashes sitting on her desk made her sick — so she concocted a plan.
Social Media
She did absolutely nothing at first. She tossed and turned all night, wondering if a stranger’s loved one’s eternal resting place was on top of some files. Sure, she’d seen screws on the bottom of the urn, but she’d thought it was for sand or some other weighing mechanism. Torn about what to do, she turned to social media.
To Open… or Not?
Opening unmarked urns, Jessica knew, was “how you get haunted.” She joked she would “probably just end up giving it a nickname and adopting it as part of the family,” but still solicited suggestions from friends, who agreed she should leave the urn unopened and place it outside somewhere.
For a quick survey of the weirdest suggestions Jessica got, one person said to “sprinkle rosemary over it and open it outside.” Another said to use it as a lawn ornament. There was a lot of differing advice, but Jessica finally made a decision.
What To Do
She opened it. There was no way, she knew, that she could ever make a decision about the heart-shaped urn if she didn’t know what was inside. After all, if it was an empty container, she had no qualms using it as a paperweight (and fondly remembering it as Braiden’s gift).
Open Sesame
So, slowly and carefully, she undid the screws, hoping that she would find nothing inside. Her wish didn’t come true. When the heart-popped open, she saw a tiny baggy inside, one filled with mystery ashes. She choked a bit, but then had a renewed sense of purpose.
On the Mantle
At first, she placed the urn on the mantle, feeling a living room ornament was more respectful to the possible dead than a desk paperweight. Still, the placement didn’t feel right, so she turned to one last piece of advice she received from friends on social media.
The Real Owner
After sorting through the not-so-useful comments, something stuck out. One of her commenters suggested that Jessica find its original owners. They said the original owner might not have known what was inside — it might offer the family some peace.
Going Viral
So, Jessica decided to make a public Facebook post about the urn. She wanted to return the ashes to where they belonged, and getting her message to spread far and wide seemed like the best possible approach.
Help of the Press
Her Facebook message was shared far and wide, and at some point, the local newspaper caught wind of the situation. Journalists offered to help Jessica get the word out, and the search got even bigger. With all engines firing, Jessica was sure the urn would find a home.
First Contact
The next day, Jessica got a call about someone looking for the urn! Jessica was relieved, but on the other hand, she wanted to hear the caller’s story. Now she felt a bit protective of the urn; giving away ashes to a prankster was not an option.
An Ex’s Tale
Jessica met up with the man who claimed to be the urn’s rightful owner. He said that it was part of a larger set that held the ashes of his father in law. So why, Jessica wanted to know, did she find the urn for $1 at a car boot sale?
Petty and Trifling
The man launched into his story: Years ago, before he ever met his wife, she was dating another man. When it didn’t work out, she called things off, but the spurned ex held a grudge. He didn’t return any of her possessions and sold off the urn. Jessica was appalled.
She Insisted
That’s why, just two weeks before Christmas 2020, Jessica insisted that she accompany the man to give his wife the urn. She never forgot the look on her face: these were her father’s ashes, missing for half a decade. It was cathartic.
Goes To Show
As the saying goes, one man’s treasure can be another’s ashes! Weirdly, the accidental sale of ashes happens frequently — Zach Taylor from Georgia found unlikely remains in the glove compartment of a used car.
Coming from a family of auto shop owners, Zach Taylor was practically born loving cars. From those early days on, Zach began acquiring quite the collection of automobiles, but he had his eye on one in particular.
Even with a garage jam-packed with collectible cars, there was one vehicle that had eluded Zach for most of his adult life: the 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback. And given the car’s unique history, its lack of availability should come as no surprise.
An updated version of the redesigned 1967 model, the ’68 Mustang became an American icon thanks to its role in the Steve McQueen classic Bullitt. Car collectors were relentless in their pursuit of the legendary model. This made Zach’s life difficult.
But he wasn’t willing to give up on his search, and in July of 2017, his determination finally paid off. Browsing Craiglist one afternoon, Zach stumbled upon a ’68 Fastback for sale in nearby Franklin, North Carolina.
Before he could talk himself out of it, Zach was already on the phone with the seller, who explained he listed the car for a friend who didn’t have internet access. The intermediary then put Zach in touch with the actual seller, who invited him to North Carolina to check the vehicle out for himself.
With childlike giddiness, Zach hopped in his car and began the two-hour drive to Franklin, all the while picturing what the Mustang would look like parked in his collection. Sure, the car would need a ton of TLC to restore it to its former glory, but Zach was willing to put in the extra work to make his dream a reality.
When he finally arrived at the small North Carolina farm, Zach pulled up to an old barn where he found the Mustang waiting for him. There, he met the car’s owner, Bruce, who gave him a little more insight into its history.
According to Bruce, the Mustang was originally owned by his lifelong-friend James, though it had been years since the car was in working condition. In fact, the Mustang had actually sat under a tree in the hot Florida sun for decades before Bruce got it.
Sadly, James had passed a few years prior, and with his family looking to sell the car, Bruce happily purchased it from them. Since then, the Mustang had sat untouched in the shady shelter of Bruce’s barn.
With such a unique story behind such a unique vehicle, purchasing the car seemed like a no-brainer for Zach. He began looking the car over, and after finding the exterior in pretty decent shape, he decided to take a look inside.
The interior was a little more worn than he’d expected, but with a little time and effort, this bad boy would shine up brand-spankin’ new. But as he continued to examine the car, he noticed an unusual feature that certainly hadn’t come factory installed.
Resting in the passenger seat was a small mason jar filled with a strange white powder and labeled “James.” Puzzled, Zach turned to Bruce and asked what the peculiar object was. His response? “That’s James!”
That’s right: James – or, rather, his ashes – had made the Mustang his post-mortem abode. Zach was completely shocked by the revelation, and, even after the weight of Bruce’s words had settled on him, the decision to buy the car or not was tougher.
Ultimately, he decided not to buy the car. Believing this ’68 Fastback to be a lost cause, Zach resumed his search, though the very next morning, Bruce rang him and casually spoke about his friendship with James. Over the next year, Bruce called Zach between 30 and 50 times to discuss the topic of his former best friend.
Zach was a good sport about the whole thing, and by the time he received his last call from Bruce, he felt as if he had known James his entire life. And so, Zach decided to move past his reservations and purchased the car from Bruce — ashes and all.
For just $7,000, Zach got a great deal on the car, though as he began working on it, he realized the Mustang was a lot more beat down than it looked. It was a tough decision, but in the end, Zach sold the car to a buyer he knew would make James proud.
That buyer turned out to be Colin Budden, owner of Corner Classics on the Isle of Wight off the coast of England. Budden and his team had successfully restored 25 vintage Mustangs over the years, and with a little elbow grease, he hoped to make James’ number 26.
Budden began restoring the car for a client, working to replace the Mustang’s rusted body. And as for James? Well, his days of cruising were far from over.
But this time around, James’ ashes weren’t going to sit in the passenger seat: they were going to become part of the car itself. Budden hoped to incorporate the remains into the vehicle’s chassis before the build was through, allowing James to continue to ride until the end of time.
As they settled into their new apartment, these three roommates knew they had tons of unpacking and chores to take care of. But none of them expected that one routine purchase would lead to the greatest discovery of their young lives.
The trio resided in the charming, old-fashioned town of New Paltz, nestled in New York’s Hudson Valley. Though the community made for a neat place to live, these friends weren’t exactly surrounded by luxury.
Lara, Cally, and Reese were all either enrolled in college or recently graduated. Most of their income went toward rent and ramen, so any leftover cash had to be invested wisely. One thing they all agreed on was that their apartment desperately needed furniture.
The twenty-somethings wandered into their local Salvation Army store and inspected their couch selection. They came across some really nice pieces that unfortunately wouldn’t fit in their apartment. Only one would, and it was a doozy.
So, the roommates had no other choice but to lug home the oldest and ugliest couch that the store had to offer. Still, it was only twenty bucks, so they certainly found a bargain, even if it was unsightly.
Lara, Reese, and Cally celebrated by sitting back on their new couch and watching some TV. Some doubts crept through their minds, however. One part of the couch was so uncomfortable. It almost felt like there was something inside of it.
Inspired by this half-serious thought, the roommates began to search through their sofa. Most of its sections simply proved to be lumpy and misshapen. But then Reese froze — he’d found a thick envelope in one of the pillows.
Cally and Lara tore apart the rest of the couch in a frenzy. Within a few seconds, they located a second envelope. And then another. And soon, more — there were envelopes hiding throughout the couch!
Were they seeing things? Each package contained rolls of bills inches thick. Practically every denomination was stuffed in there, from ones up to one hundreds. It would take the roommates a while to count it all up. It was serious a bundle.
Lara, Cally, and Reese both laughed and cried while they counted the bills. Sure, they’d all found loose change between couch cushions before. This type of discovery, on the other hand, defied explanation.
Altogether, the couch money added up to $41,000! The roomies chattered about how much rent it would cover. Reese mentioned buying his mom a car. Unfortunately, they discovered one final object that threatened to throw a wrench into their plans.
A separate envelope, torn and battered as it was, held a bank deposit slip. The paper contained all sorts of personal information, including a full name — presumably the owner of all that cash.
The trio had a true dilemma on their hands. Although the money would really help them out, the friends agreed the right thing to do would be to return it. But first they had to see if they could track down the owner.
Hoping they weren’t throwing away the windfall of a lifetime, the roommates shared the bank information with the Salvation Army. Against all odds, the charity managed to track down the original owners. There was no backing out now.
The next day, the New Paltzers drove out to the provided address. When they finally arrived, nobody liked what they saw. The house was totally rundown. Multiple “Beware of Dog” signs hung on the fence. Who, the kids wondered, were they about to get involved with?
Much to their relief, an old woman opened the door and welcomed them inside. She spent most of her days alone, as her husband passed away and she retired from her florist shop. She claimed the money was hers — but she’d completely forgot it was in the couch!
Seeing her young visitors scratch their heads, she explained she grew up in a time when people couldn’t trust banks. Instead of putting their life savings in an account, she and her husband stuffed their nest egg into the furniture — until their kids donated it.
In that moment, the roommates understood the pile of cash wasn’t theirs to take. They returned the money to the elderly woman, who thanked them profusely. She felt so grateful, in fact, that she sprung a surprise on them.
She allowed the roommates to keep $1,000 as a finders’ fee! Though it paled in comparison to the total fortune, a cool grand wasn’t a bad return on a $20 purchase. Naturally, they got to keep the sofa as well. But were they upset?
Lara, Cally, and Reese insist their true reward was returning the retirement savings to their rightful owner. Most others would’ve spent all the cash, or failed to find it at all! But these pals could rest easy — literally and figuratively — knowing they did the right thing.
