CYPRESS, Texas – Secret Santa strikes early, leaving cash in one unsuspecting mother’s grocery cart.
At Kroger supermarket on Cypresswood Drive, Ulanda Fulford discovered the red envelope left behind by a man wearing a bright red hoodie.
Any other night, the downpour would’ve been enough to keep Ulanda home, but she went anyway.
Didn’t take long before she noticed the man in the hoodie, following her from one aisle to the next. Eventually the two crossed paths at the Halloween aisle.
“I see him coming up the aisle and I’m looking at my son, like oh God. Don’t let anything happen,” Fulford said.
Nothing did. The man walked right by Ulanda and never said a word.
“I went to the check out and unloaded my groceries and I found this red card. I’m thinking how this card got in my cart,” Fulford said.
On the envelope, the words “to: you” were written. Had there been no writing Ulanda says she probably wouldn’t have opened it. Those words however, appeared more inviting. She could now at least imagine this letter being meant for her.
Ulanda opened the card in front of the cashier and a $100 fell out. Inside the inscription read:
“Here’s an early Christmas gift! Use it in any way that will bring you a little happiness. It’s not much but hopefully enough to bring a smile to your face, "signed S.S. or Secret Santa.
Whoever he was, it’s important he knows this money will go to Ulanda’s happiness, the young man right beside her.
Ulanda plans to put the money into her four year old son’s savings account, to use toward his future.
Yes, it’s October and we’re still days before Halloween, but maybe that’s what makes this even more special.
It’s a gift you never knew needed, until it was right in front of you.
“He just stood out to me and I want to thank him. This is truly a blessing,” Ulanda said.