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Emily Jean typically uses her TikTok to share hand-crafted creations and sewing tutorials.
But on February 17, when her neighbors left her an unexpected present on her doorstep, she decided to do an unboxing video on camera.
“I'm literally crying right now because there’s this elderly couple two blocks away from me that have a concrete porch goose, and I've been dropping them off porch goose outfits,” Jean said, already breaking down into tears.
“I feel so silly for crying,” she added, “but I've been writing them little notes, like: ‘Love your friends with Melody Lane,’ and they found my house by finding my porch goose — 'cause I told them I had a porch goose. I've never met these people, and they just dropped me off something and just drove away, and I’m about to open it.”
Nothing could have prepared Jean for what the card said inside.
“Oh, my God! Oh, my God! They died, Joseph!” she said, calling off camera to her partner.
“What do you mean they died?” he asked, joining her in the kitchen.
“I think that was their daughter,” Jean said through tears as she opened the card fully.
“Dear Goose Friend,” she read, “we wanted to let you know that the goose owner passed away earlier this month. Dad was so tickled by your gesture to clothe the goose. You brought joy to the last couple of months of his life. He asked the grandkids to dress the goose after you made each delivery and he would check the goose each time he left the house, making sure it had not blown away.”
The neighbor’s daughter went on to explain that the porch goose had belonged to her mom.
“She requested it for her Mother's Day gift in the early ‘90s. She kept the goose well clothed until her death in 2018 — I can't read this,” Jean said, taking a moment to pause and wipe her tears.
“Many of the outfits were handmade,” she said, reading on. “We even had a couple of photo shoots, as you can see. The goose even had a special outfit for weddings and first communions. Soon, the goose will be returning to its original home in Waldo.”
The neighbor’s daughter wrapped up her card by saying that her mom was an avid cookbook collector.
“We are sending along a gooseberry cookbook from mom’s collection. Enjoy. Thank you, The Goose Family.”
Jean took the cookbook out of the bag, showing it to the camera.
“Look, she has notes in here. This is so sweet,” she said, wiping her tears away with the front of her shirt and holding up an old picture of the porch goose taken on a disposable camera.
She then gasped as she realized that her neighbor’s father had passed away on the same day as her own grandma.
“I think this is your sign that acts of kindness probably mean more than you think,” Jean said, as she wrapped up the video in tears.
Within 24 hours, Jean’s story had reached 1.1 million views on TikTok, and the comment section was flooded with emotional words from viewers.
“I did not think I’d be finding out what a porch goose is and crying over one in the same day,” one person wrote.
“I love that they took a moment in their own grief to share that with you,” read another comment. “Signed, your sobbing friend on the internet.”
“I absolutely love how the daughter made sure the goose didn't just disappear and leave you wondering,” a viewer said. “She gave you a gift of love and closure.”
You may also like: 102 Best Random Acts of Kindness Ideas
Header images via Emily Jean / Tiktok
