We all have something from the past that we always keep close to our hearts. No matter how much time passes by. It may be in the form of a childhood friend, a high school sweetheart, a special toy, or a favorite book. We cherish the memories we had with those people and things. And we know that even if we lose them along the way, they will still be part of our lives.
For Adrian Pearce, he owned something valuable.
Something given to him in the past, by someone important to him once. A gift from his ex-girlfriend in high school. He held on to that gift for decades. And 50 years later, he finally opened it, but it was nothing close to what he expected. Read on to see what happened to Adrian and the events that followed after he opened his gift.
Adrian Pearce and Vicki Allen met in high school back in the 1970s. They both went to a high school in Toronto, Canada. The two got along well and started dating.
At that time, Adrian was two years older than Vicki. But it didn’t matter. The two were very happy and felt like they had something real, until one day...
Christmas was coming soon, and Adrian was excited about the holidays. For months, he planned on spending more time with Vicki.
He was giddy and excited, but all of a sudden, his plans were crushed…
That Christmas, when Adrian was so excited, Vicki came to tell him something that would crush his heart… Vicki wanted to break up! Adrian was shocked. He never imagined she would break up with him, and especially not before Christmas.
For him, they were meant to be together. So that year, Christmas was colder than ever for Adrian. But as Vicki left him, she also left something for him.
Before saying goodbye to Adrian, Vicki gave him one last gift. It was a Christmas present. She already bought it for Adrian before they broke up, so it felt right to give it to him.
It was a small gift wrapped in blue paper. What was inside it, Adrian never knew until 50 years later...
After Vicki broke up with Adrian, he went home angry and sad. He felt like his heart was broken into a million pieces. And Vicki was the one who broke it. He still didn’t understand why she dumped him.
He looked at the gift she gave him and let out a painful sigh. “Why?” he thought. He didn’t want to open her gift, so he just put it under the Christmas tree.
Adrian woke up the next morning with a heavy heart. Was everything just a dream? Well, it was what he wished for. But sadly, it wasn’t.
Vicki really left him. And every time he looked at that blue gift, he is reminded of it. So that year, after all the gifts were unwrapped, Vicki’s gift stayed unopened. Will Adrian have the heart to open it?
A new year came, and Adrian kept the gift with him. He never opened it, but he always put it under the tree every Christmas. His family became curious. Why wouldn’t Adrian just open his ex’s gift? But Adrian never told them why.
Years passed by, and what started as a one-time thing became a tradition.
For years, even decades, Adrian just put the unopened gift under the tree. Why can’t he open it? Was he waiting for something? For someone?
Time went by, and Adrian went on with his life. He was lucky enough to find and marry the love of his life, Janet. Together, the two made a happy family and lived with their kids. Now that Adrian has his own family, you might be asking, “Has he opened the gift yet?”
The answer is NO.
Even after marriage, Adrian has kept his ex’s unopened gift. In fact, he still put it in their family Christmas tree. His wife noticed his little tradition and asked about the blue gift. When he told his wife the story, he never expected her reaction…
For Adrian, the blue gift was more than just a gift. It was a keepsake, a piece of his past. That’s why he kept it all these years. He continued with his tradition of putting it under the tree. Which made even his children curious.
They asked him about the gift and why he never opened it. But again, Adrian didn’t say a thing. At first, his wife seemed to be okay about it. But more holidays came and went, and that blue gift still stayed under the tree. Janet just felt like she couldn’t take it anymore, so she did what a wife had to do.
After decades of putting up with her husband’s holiday tradition, Janet had enough.
She couldn’t have another Christmas morning and see that unopened blue gift again. So she put her foot down and told Adrian he had to open the gift once and for all or just get rid of it. It wasn’t because of jealousy. Janet knew her husband was over her ex.
But it was because she was tired of seeing her husband cling to an old item. She wanted him to let go. But Adrian did the opposite…
In 2017, Adrian decided to share his story with the world. The blue gift was more than just a gift to him; it held a memory. And he wanted people to understand that.
So he went to Facebook and posted the details of his story. But the public’s reaction to his post was unbelievable!
In his post, Adrian went ahead and explained everything. As it turns out, Vicki actually told him why she broke up with him. She met another guy named Wolf and decided to leave Adrian.
People felt sorry for Adrian and wanted to help him find the woman who once broke his heart.
They believed that Adrian needed to see Vicki to open the gift. After thinking and asking his wife, Adrian decided. But even with the help of the internet, finding Vicki was still a challenge.
Adrian never thought about it, but his post went viral. Thousands have viewed his post, and the media covered his story. Because of these, lots of women came to him and pretended to be Vicki. It had been decades since Adrian last saw his ex, but he was still sure they hadn't found the real Vicki yet. After creating a noise online, Adrian decided to go traditional.
He dug up an old diary and found old numbers that could be Vicki’s. But everything led to a dead end. And just as he was losing hope, someone came into view...
After doing everything he can, Adrian felt like it was impossible to find Vicki again. But then an old high school friend reached out to him. He was Facebook friends with Vicki, so he helped the two reconnect.
Excited, Adrian reached out to Vicki.
And luckily, Vicki was also happy to see him, so she invited Adrian and his wife to her home in British Columbia. As excited as everyone was, what did the reunion have in store for them?
Finally, after almost five decades, the ex-lovers met again. Vicki and Adrian were clearly happy to see each other after a long time. After catching up, Vicki was surprised to know that Adrian kept her gift all these years.
Now that he saw Vicki, Adrian felt he needed to finally open the gift. But seeing that they already had the world’s attention on them, Vicki had a better plan…
Taking advantage of the media and the internet’s attention, the ex-lovers decided to sponsor a charity for Christmas by revealing the gift on national television. Hundreds of people were waiting to see what was inside the blue wrapper.
But before opening the gift, Vicki had some things to say to Adrian.
With the nation watching, Vicki felt she needed to set things straight. So she told Adrian what really happened on Christmas 50 years ago. As she was shopping for her Adrian’s now-famous gift, she ran into another boy, Wolf. Vicki had always had a huge crush on him, so she was so happy to bump into him. But the next thing she knew, they were kissing!
Vicki felt so guilty and sorry that she had to break up with Adrian. Hearing this now, Adrian felt a little better. Because now he knew what really happened. And since everything is clear now, it’s time to finally unwrap the gift…
Since she bought the gift 50 years ago, Vicki had no idea what was inside the blue wrapper. The two were so excited to open the gift and see what was waiting for them. They tipped and turned the tiny gift and tried to make guesses.
Then finally, Adrian slowly tore the blue wrapper that hugged the gift for five decades… As the item was slowly revealed, Vicki’s face turned red. “There’s no way I could have given that gift to him!” she muttered.
At last, the gift was unwrapped… And it was a tiny book entitled, “Love Is: New Ways To Spot That Certain Feeling.” It was a collection of comics sketches about a woman’s love for her husband. The gift appeared to be so cheesy, so Vicki felt embarrassed. She even left a personal note to Adrian on the book’s cover!
Their reaction was 50 years late, but it was priceless. Finally, after five long decades of keeping it, Adrian opened his Christmas gift. But, their reunion was just the start of a new and exciting journey…
After their decades-long gift story became a viral hit, Adrian took advantage of the spotlight. He felt like he wanted to tell a more detailed version of their story.
So he asked Vicki and his wife to write a book with him. Sure enough, with Adrian’s motivation and hard work, he was able to publish his book, “The 47-year-old present.” Adrian then continued to work on several charity events with his wife and Vicki.