Woman Finds Box Marked "Do Not Open" In The Attic After Her Mom Dies And Now We're All Crying

The contents of the box reveled a hidden side of her dad's life that she never could have imagined.

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• June 10, 2022

When most people think of closure after a loved one's death, they imagine finding out all the details about what happened and why. In some cases, however, closure can come from discovering hidden aspects of a person's life.

This was the case for a woman who found a box marked "Do Not Open" after her mother's death. A discovery like this can certainly get anyone's mind racing — what could be so bad that the owner would want it hidden away?

As the author explained, investigating the contents of this mysterious box was not as straightforward as she expected. She had her older sister to contend with, who felt their mother wanted the box to remain hidden for a reason.

I was going through the attic and found a metal box with a note on it that just said, “Do not open”. I brought it to my sister and said we should find the key and try to open it and she became angry. She said I was disrespecting my mother's wishes etc.

But this wasn't going to keep the determined woman from finding out what was inside. In her opinion, her older sister was just being too dramatic.

I told her I didn’t think it was a big deal and we should open it. (I didn’t say this but it’s not like mom is around to care about her stuff anymore?) My sister insisted I put it back and not try to open it. She and my mom were always a bit closer and had their own little secrets together. I guess because my sister is the firstborn? But I think she’s being too dramatic about a random box.

More would unravel about this "random box" in the coming days. So I'll let you read the rest of the story for yourself.

"What's in the boxxxxxx?!"

The author shared the intriguing story on Reddit - "AITA for wanting to open a box that has a “do not open” note on it?"

After the author discovered the mysterious box, her sister was opposed to the idea of opening it

After a few days, the woman came back with a major update. I'm sure you'll love to check this out.

Brace yourselves!

After revealing the discovery of the mysterious box, a lot of people came up with some disturbing theories. Gladly, she came out to debunk all of them

The moment of truth! She opened the box to find a trove of diaries and love letters belonging to her deceased father

Both her parents were secretly gay

She explained that her parents grew up in a very religious community where homosexuality was seen as deserving of death

She also found out that, unknown to her mom, her dad was having a long distance relationship with a man

She revealed that the birth of her sister was very much a way to sell the idea that her parents were a straight couple

There are thoughts that the author's dad maybe committed suicide. But in all, he was described as the "best dad"

In the years after their dad died, her sister once accidentally caught their mom making out with a "friend"

The author finally understood why her sister was super protective of their mom's secret

The story went viral, garnering almost 10k upvotes from the Reddit community. Here's what users had to say about this intriguing story:

"This is simply... Sad"

"I feel like both of them channeled their "missing" love to their daughters"

"I am just glad that the kids grew up knowing nothing but love and acceptance from their parents."

"This breaks my heart"

"This would make a beautiful book."

The discovery of the letters was a bittersweet moment for the woman. It gave her a new understanding of her parents and their relationship with each other. 

Although it was painful to find out about her parents' struggles, it was also comforting to know that they didn't leave each other behind.

Sometimes it's worth taking the time to explore our family histories, even if they seem like dark secrets. Who knows what we might find?

Jesse