Broke College Graduate Makes A Life-Changing Discovery in Her Grandmother’s Home

Meet Alice from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was a normal student just trying to get by, heartbroken at the death of her grandmother—the person that she cherished most in the world. 

Alice of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and her grandmother were the best of friends. Throughout Alice’s life, these two have shared an unbreakable bond, so it’s no wonder that Alice was truly devastated when her beloved grandmother passed away.

Her grandmother’s final act of love was to leave Alice with all her worldly possessions, including her house, which was filled with precious memories of all the times they spent together. For Alice, it was a huge windfall, but being surrounded by all those memories was also a painful reminder. Since her grandma’s leave, there were no new memories to be made.

While there was an inordinate amount of stuff in the house, Alice took her time to go through everything one item at a time. Every single thing she looked at and touched carried a memory of her time with her grandmother.

Right there on the floor by the front door was this tiny bronze statue of the Greek goddess Thetis—daughter of the sea god Nereus—that her grandma had been using as a doorstop. While it was a lovely piece, it never once crossed Alice’s mind that the statue held more value than any other door-stopping trinket.

In Greek mythology, Thetis was a Nereid, meaning she was one of several daughters of the sea God Nereus. Nereids were daughters born from the union of Nereus and Doris, the daughter of the God Oceanus.

Thetis herself was an important Nereid in Greek mythology. She was the leader of fifty Nereides and was on the level of a sea god herself.

Opinions on Thetis changed in the world of the Gods after Themis, Goddess of Justice, spoke of a prophecy where Thetis was destined to give birth to a son who would grow to be mightier than Zeus himself.

Thetis herself had no desire to marry a mortal and tried her best to resist the advances of Peleus and the plans of Zeus.

The mortal hero Peleus successfully convinced Thetis to marry him. He held on to her with all his might as she tried to shapeshift into different forms, and she eventually relented to his marriage proposal

Eris tossed an apple into the crowd gathered at the wedding, with words inscribed on its surface. The words read “for the fairest” and caused a huge scene of chaos at the wedding as many attendees fought for the right to possess it. 

According to Britannica, it is thought that Thetis bore as many as seven children, however, they perished when she tried to turn them into immortals or in political schemes.  The exact details of the story vary based on the source.

As Achilles grew up, his prowess in battle became apparent. He was extremely brave and strong, and his good looks earned him a reputation among even the Gods.

During Thetis’ wedding, the golden apple thrown by Eris caused Paris of Troy to have to choose the fairest of the three goddesses.

Thetis was reluctant to let her son Achilles join the war, attempting to hide him by dressing him up as a woman and hiding him in the royal court of a friendly king.

The Greeks fiercely fought the army of Troy but with no clear winner on either side.

Achilles eventually faces off against Paris, who critically wounds him by firing an arrow into his non-immortal heel. Thetis mourns the death of Achilles, however, the Greeks were successful at sacking the city of Troy and ending the war.

Growing up listening to all these marvelous tales, Alice herself developed such a keen interest in the topic—so much so that she went to college to study the Classics and eventually got her Bachelor’s degree in History.

Even though all the stuff in her grandmother’s house held sentimental value and it would be hard to part with any of them, Alice decided that most of these things had to go. If nothing else, they made the house feel like a shrine to her grandmother, and all the memories were too painful to bear.

Or so she thought.

All these years, this lump of metal was being used by her grandma to hold a door open. Mini bronze statues aren’t usually used for such a purpose, but still: grandma was a bit eccentric, after all, so she thought nothing of it.

A few days after posting an ad for the doorstop, Alice received a message from across the world. At first, she didn’t think much of it and was ready to box it and ship it away. She thought that the $15 she listed the doorstop for was a fair price.

The appraiser spent what seemed like forever going over the piece of paper. Armed with a magnifying glass, he went over every inch of the letter and kept reading and re-reading its contents. The whole time, his face remained unreadable.

Alice tried to calm herself down by reminding herself that the appraiser knew what he was doing. She just had to be patient and wait for him to tell her what, if any, he found. 

All the “what ifs” started to crowd Alice’s mind.

What if the piece was, in fact, valuable, but the appraiser decided to cheat her out of learning the item’s true price? Even if the piece turned out to be worthless, could she trust the words of the appraiser?

Alice had heard so many stories about people possessing antiques. Some came with happy endings, and some were devastating. She knew that while a lucky few would strike gold and sell their possessions for hundreds of thousands of dollars, a great many more would be scammed out of their precious items.

For one thing, that statue has been in her grandmother’s house for decades. She may have been using it as a doorstop, but given that it contained a secret message, it probably meant more to her grandma than she had led others to believe.

If it turned out that the statue was worth a considerable sum, Alice knew she would be faced with a tough decision. She knew she was currently at a place in her life where she could use every bit of help she could get.

Alice was getting impatient and antsy from all the waiting. The appraiser was taking his time studying both the letter and the statue itself back and forth. 

At this point, the appraiser went from pouring over the letter to picking apart the notes in his backpack, seemingly looking for clues and additional information. His face was becoming visibly more intense, and he appeared to be lost in thought, which in turn, made Alice all the more curious.

As it turns out, the little bronze statue of goddess Thetis wasn’t just any ordinary statue from the dollar store. In fact, its sheer value made Alice question why such an important piece’s job had been holding open a door for all that time.

As the appraiser was sharing this revelation with Alice, he grew more and more animated. Gone was the stuffy exterior and quiet demeanor. It was replaced by a broad grin that told Alice he was genuinely excited about his find and that he loved his work.

The now-animated appraiser continued to share his findings. It was intriguing! Fortunately, not only did the appraiser manage to identify the statue and estimate the time period of its creation, but he was also able to figure out who made the beautiful piece.

After finally learning the truth about this seemingly innocuous piece of metal, Alice began to wonder if her grandmother knew as well. But seeing as it was being used as a doorstop for the better half of a century, Alice concluded that her grandma probably thought it was just another trinket she picked up from somewhere.

According to the appraiser, thanks to the note hidden in the statue, he was now able to piece together the truth of the statue’s origins.

It’s undeniable: All those years, Alice’s grandmother had been in possession of a piece of history. The kicker? It was being used as a doorstop! 

Alice made sure to thank her lucky stars that she ended up in this particular antique shop with this particular appraiser. She knew she could’ve just as easily been swindled by someone who was solely in it for the money, who didn’t have a genuine appreciation for antiques as her appraiser had.

Having zero clue as to how she should proceed, Alice asked the helpful appraiser for advice. He generously offered to put her in touch with a couple of people—people he trusted to do right by her just as he did—to help her sell the Thetis statue.