A Closer Look
She took a closer look at the photo but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary – at first. Lowering her eyes to the image, she began to focus on one particular spot and suddenly, she saw it. It was a faint outline, but it was there.
And it was undeniable. Her heart started to race.
The Answer To The Mystery
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When an unsuspecting mom posted a photo of her little girl online, she didn’t think much of it. But not long after the picture had been shared a dozen times, a friend noticed that there was something there that nobody had seen.
There, hidden in the reflection in the little girl’s eye, was the answer to the mystery that had plagued her for weeks.
A Quiet Neighborhood
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It had only been a few months since Rosie had moved into that house. She had recently moved back in with her parents for a while. But she didn’t feel comfortable in her childhood home anymore, so she decided to go off on her own.
She moved to a little neighborhood near Bristol with her young daughter. Her street was calm and quiet — but there was more to it than met the eye.
Love At First Sight
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Rosie worked from home so that she could be with her daughter, Katie. The house they had moved into was old – with gorgeous original parquet floors, pressed ceilings, and wide, open spaces. She had fallen in love with it the first time she had seen it.
Although it was a little over her budget, she knew that this was where she wanted to live. Only recently, she wasn’t so sure anymore.
Feeling Antsy
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Being alone in the house all day, Rosie was sure to lock everything up tight. After all, with a baby in the house, you couldn’t be too careful. Although she had moved into a relatively safe neighborhood, she still didn’t feel completely comfortable just yet.
Her feelings of unease were only reinforced when strange things started to happen.
Unwelcome
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One day, Rosie was outside on the back deck of her little house. That’s when she noticed pink flowers strewn all over the deck. She was happy to see flowers blossoming already, although she was curious as to where they had come from. She didn’t keep that kind of flower in her garden, and none of her adjacent neighbors did, either.
She thought the wind might have blown them there, but it hadn’t been windy lately. She later forgot about it — but not for long.
A Bump In The Night
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It wasn’t long before other strange things started to happen in the house. One night, Rosie awoke to a clattering sound coming from the kitchen. Too frightened to investigate herself and thinking that someone must have broken in, she called her local security company. They arrived within minutes and checked every nook and cranny of the house, but found no cause for the noise.
A window was open, just a crack – and on the counter lay a single pink flower. After that, Rosie made sure that she always locked that window tight.
More Flowers
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A couple of days later, Rosie noticed there were a few more pink flowers on her deck. It couldn’t just be a coincidence. She stepped outside and peeked over her neighbors’ wall, but couldn’t see any of the same flowers. More than a little unnerved, she wondered where they were coming from.
Now, Rosie was starting to take this more seriously. Could somebody be leaving flowers on purpose? Did she have a stalker?
Who Was Doing It?
University of Oxford
It was tough to narrow down the possible suspects because of the way Rosie’s street was laid out. “We live on a street of terraced houses that backs onto another street of terraced houses with a kind of garden corridor between,” she explains.
That meant that most of her neighbors had easy access to her back deck. So she started racking her brain to remember all the people she had met there since moving in.
An Admirer?
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Even after making a list of all the neighbors she’d met since moving there, Rosie still wasn’t any closer to finding out who was leaving flowers for her to find. Flowers are usually a symbol of love, which meant that whoever was responsible probably had a secret crush on her.
She felt extremely unnerved. Weeks passed and the flowers kept coming. Then one day, the truth finally came out.
A Faint Outline
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Rosie was taking a few snaps of Katie playing on the front porch. At least the flowers weren’t there today – maybe whoever had been leaving them had moved on, she thought, relieved.
But it was only when she posted the photos of little Katie online that an eagle-eyed friend saw it – the outline of an animal, with something pink in its mouth.
The Culprit
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Finally, Rosie had the answer she had been racking her brain over for weeks. All the sleepless nights worrying about stalkers evaporated instantly. Her Facebook friend had commented “I didn’t know you had a cat! Congrats!” She finally knew who was bringing her flowers.
But she also knew that she had to get proof of the encounter — or no one would believe her.
Generous Feline
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Rosie watched and waited for days until she appeared. Her heart started pounding as she stared at the visitor outside. The neighbor’s cat, Willow, was making her way toward her deck. This wasn’t unusual, as Willow was a friendly cat and loved to hang out with everyone in the neighborhood.
But Rosie’s mouth dropped to the floor when she saw what Willow was carrying — pink flowers in her mouth!
Getting Evidence
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Rosie couldn’t believe it, and she and didn’t think anyone else would either, so she ran to get her phone to record. “I was so excited that I went to film it because she’s so cute and I’d never seen a cat ever bring back anything but dead animals before,” she says.
That said, it looks like Willow is quite a special cat.
Fast Friends
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Rosie started buying cat food and treats to have on hand whenever Willow visited. She also saved all the cardboard boxes from the packages she got — knowing how much cats love to sit in them. Her strategy worked, and soon she, Katie, and Willow became fast friends.
It really was the missing piece in Rosie’s life. And it seemed that Willow knew it.
A Special Cat
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Rosie was extremely grateful for having Willow in her life. But she knew that Willow had many other human friends. Aside from her owners, Rosie knew everyone in the neighborhood loved Willow and welcomed her into their homes.
Rosie had no reason to think she was special — nor did she expect her to be. So when she saw Willow bringing her flowers, she couldn’t contain her emotion.
Relief
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Relief washed over Rosie like a wave as she finally understood that the flowers had no sinister or hidden meaning. She felt safe again for the first time in weeks. But a cat bringing flowers was still a strange occurrence indeed.
Where was she getting them from? And why was she bringing them to Rosie?
Just For Her
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As far as Rosie knew, none of her other neighbors had been the recipients of flowers from Willow that spring. Then she found out something even more incredible: the pink flowers that Willow was gifting her came from her owners’ garden!
“She clearly likes us because she steals flowers from [her owners] and leaves them on our deck,” Rosie explained. What a thoughtful little feline!
Cat Burglar
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“Willow rules over about six of the gardens, and I’m pretty sure she gets fed by everyone because she’s very difficult to say no to,” says Rosie.
As she gradually met her new neighbors, they all told her similar stories of Willow making her way inside their houses through open windows at night.
A Viral Story
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After Rosie uploaded the video of her ‘secret admirer’ on YouTube and Facebook, people couldn’t get enough of it. Since then, the video has been viewed over 800,000 times, and everyone who saw it had to share it with their friends!
One viewer wrote: “I have gotten so many replies after sharing this beautiful and lovely story. I told each and every one of them I was just happy I could bring a smile to their face today.”