It was a leak in Rebecca Opie's ceiling that led to the discovery of a letter written in 2007 by a 10-year-old boy who used to live in her Napier home.
"I got the plumbers in, and I wanted to check if there was insulation, and noticed a bit of paper behind all these cobwebs," Opie said.
The 34-year-old used her kitchen tongs to retrieve the letter because she was unable to reach it.
Opie said she was panicking because she thought the letter might declare that there was a dead body in the home.
Instead, it was a note penned by a 10-year-old boy called Fergus from 2007.
"The first owners of this house were me, my mum Rosemary and my nana Pauline," the letter said.
Opie said discovering the letter was "really cute".
"I thought it was cool," she said.
It goes on to describe the paint job of the home at the time, which was light-green, cream, and pink.
"It took me 17 years to find it," Opie said. "The house is now all cream."
The letter from Fergus also came with a request: "If you could put this note back under the floor and write a note of your own it would be awesome," the letter said.
"I suppose I’ll have to," Opie said.
Fergus: 'I remember writing the letter'
Since discovering the letter, the author Fergus Haywood has been found. He has just turned 28.
"I do remember writing it, and putting it under the floor," Haywood said.
"When that part of the house was getting sealed up and finished, I must’ve run off and written something," he said.
Haywood told 1News he'd hoped that someone would find the note someday, and warned that there could be other hidden letters around the house.
"It’s a pretty cool way to connect with someone," he said.
Opie has since invited Haywood to the home to meet him in person.
"It’ll be interesting to meet her," Haywood said. "I’m happy that she’s leaving a note, I hope someone finds it in the future."
SHARE ME