“Mystery in the Woods: Man Finds Great-Grandfather’s Prophetic Letter Inside Family Tree”

Man Cuts Down Old Family Tree, Finds Great-Grandfather’s Fateful Prophecy Inside – Story of the Day

A desperate guy discovers, buried in the hollow of a tree outside his house, a chained-up chest containing a mysterious message. He carries it to his grandmother’s house with the intention of selling its contents, speculating that perhaps something was kept hidden for a purpose.

Down on his luck, 41-year-old Alan was a family man. That evening, his wife’s news that they were out of food added to his already mounting frustration after his supervisor turned down his request for a raise.

Alan was a packer in a warehouse, but even with his meager pay, he was having trouble making ends meet. He was drinking his coffee on his porch when he looked out at the tall pine trees. Alan had an odd thought. He thought to himself, “I can sell these logs to buy groceries and gas,” and strode to his garage to fetch an ax.

Alan started chopping down all the trees, and as soon as his ax hit one more trunk, an odd piece of crumpled paper fell out of its cavity. Alan lowered his ax out of curiosity and asked, “What’s this thing?” Upon unfolding the paper, he was shocked to read, “This treasure is cursed. Please get rid of it.”

“Treasure? What…Where?!” said an ecstatic but perplexed Alan. His eyes grew wide with surprise as he quickly pocketed the note and peered into the hollow of the pine. An old, chain-up chest that had probably been abandoned for decades was hidden inside the shadowy opening.

Alan panted and grumbled as he took out the chest, saying, “Finally! I’ve got you, you heavy old chest. Let’s see what you’ve got in there,” Lifting his ax, he delivered a sharp blow on the old lock. The wooden trunk cracked open, the lock breaking and the chain snapping. However, Alan’s delight quickly gave way to shock when he looked inside, and he fell to the ground.

“Oh my God, Jesus Christ!” his jaw dropped. His every yearning was enticed by the sight of unique stone-studded jewelry, sparkling gold diamonds, and piles of cash staring back at him. “I… I’ve never seen so much gold and money all my life! A treasure chest was hidden within this tree, and I never had a clue?! Oh God…I’M RICH! I don’t have to work anymore! I’m rich!!”

Alan was ecstatic to have the huge jackpot at his disposal. But there was something unsettling about the coded warning message. His thoughts were troubled, “What a strange thing to accompany this treasure…What does it mean?”

“Grandma used to live here, so she must know something. I’ll meet her and find out.” Curious and driven to investigate further, Alan took his discoveries with him and headed to his grandmother Barbara’s farmhouse, which was seven miles away.

“Oh my! What brought you here?!” Barbara exclaimed as Alan arrived at her door carrying a finely crafted box.

Alan remarked, “Look, Grandma,” setting the hefty chest on the table and pulling it open so Barbara could see inside. “I found this treasure chest in that pine tree outside our house. And there was this note, too. Do you know where it came from? These jewels look ancient. I wonder how long they were hidden in that tree.”

When Barbara read the note, her eyes widened in fright, as if she had seen a ghost. She jumped back, screaming, “Wh—Where did you say you found this, Alan?” as her eyes returned to the gems.

“Found it in a hollow in a pine tree outside our house,” Alan responded. “Why, is anything wrong? Please tell me if you know something about these jewels.”

Barbara cried out in terror as a bewildered Alan was unable to comprehend what had scared his grandmother. “Oh, my…Close it! Close the chest, Alan. Take that thing out of my house right now. My mother was right. Oh, Christ! What did you do? Why did you bring it here?” Barbara exclaimed. “Jesus, I didn’t think the story was true…”

“Wait…Stop. What story?” Alan asked her to get up. “…tell me, Grandma…I want to know everything. Why was this treasure chest hidden in that tree? How come nobody knew anything about it?”

Barbara’s terrified eyes returned to the chest. “Your great-grandfather, Albert…He wasn’t the most honest man in town. And what I’m about to tell you happened 80 years ago… in July of 1910, when I was a little girl…Everything was fine until Dad met his friend at the pub and learned of a rare treasure….”

In the dark, in the blur of cigarette smoke and clinking glasses, Albert swirled the drink in his hand, deep in discussion with Jimmy, his old friend and resident troublemaker.

“Albert, you won’t believe what I overheard last night,” Jimmy muttered as he came in closer, a sly little sparkle in his eyes. “The bank in the town nearby…heard it holds precious items and a ‘important cargo’ … One of the guys with the gang I hung out with last night was heavily drunk, and he let it slip… Told me it’s some kinda rare treasure…something unusual the town had never seen before.”

Albert’s mind raced, his curiosity peaked. “A cargo of rare treasure? Uhm, it sounds like a jackpot to me! Go on, Jimmy. Tell me more. What have you decided?”

Jimmy smirked cruelly and exclaimed, “What else, pal?!” “How long until we settle? I’m done making petty bucks and mugging people on the road…It’s time to catch the whale now! If you know what I mean…Yuk! Yuk!”

“I know! I know! That’s exactly what I was thinking, Jim,” replied Albert. “I’m tired of these small-time petty scores. This is our chance to become rich. What’s the plan? How are we going to do it?”

“Whatever we’re going to do, we do it quietly…and we don’t need any weapons. Honestly, I suck at using guns! Let’s use our wits this time. If the treasure is as rare and precious as they say, we must be smart to loot it without a trace!” Jimmy clarified.

After finishing another drink and leaving the pub, the buddies got to work on the bank heist that evening in Jimmy’s run-down house on the outskirts of town.

Albert happily accepted the risk, saying, “Alright, pal…that sounds like one helluva plan! Count me in! Let’s meet here tomorrow first thing before the town wakes up!” They reconnected just before dawn, taking with them fraudulent documents, their remaining cash, and an odd scheme they had been hatching. They then headed toward the neighboring town.

After a week of laborious work, Albert and Jimmy rented an old bakery in the new town, next to the bank. They pretended to be Simon and Arnold, and they even gave the avaricious landlord extra cash to stop him from requesting their documentation.

Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants behind the bar, Albert muttered to Jimmy, “Finally, pal…we’re all set for the big day! Are you sure this plan will work?”

Although the companions weren’t skilled bakers, it was the only way they could trick the locals and start their scheme. Jimmy crept to the back of the bakery to dig out a covert tunnel that led to the bank vault on the other side, while Albert pretended to be a pastry cook.

Jimmy strode away with a shovel in his hand and an evil smile on his face. “It’s now or never, Albert! You keep the bakery busy and noisy with customers while I get down to some serious business back there,” Jimmy muttered.

Albert moved behind the counter, arranging the newly cooked pastries, donning a baker’s apron. Though he knew he had to play along so that no one would suspect him, his palms trembled with anxiety.

Jimmy, meantime, was hard at work demolishing the wall behind the bakery. He worked all day, carefully following the lines on a crudely sketched map that showed where the vault was located. When he lifted a secret panel to uncover the hidden corridor, his eyes lit up with excitement. “I’m a born thief! I knew this was the right spot leading to the vault!” He laughed.

The musty scent of moist earth filled him as he peered down into the darkness. Jimmy hurried back to collect Albert so they could begin their theft. “Albert, the job’s done! I found the way to the vault. Let’s do this. Put up the ‘Closed’ sign on the door and come quick!”

Their heartbeats resounded in their ears as they made their way along the muddy tunnel through the darkness. The tunnel took them to a hidden doorway immediately below the vault in the bank’s basement. Their ability to carry out their heist covertly was facilitated by the lack of alarms and contemporary technology.

Jimmy stabilized himself and positioned his gloved fingertips on the metal vault door. He turned the handle gingerly and slowly, hoping it wouldn’t squeak or reveal their location.

Although the wait was annoying, Albert and Jimmy didn’t waver in their resolve to win the lottery. The metal door swung open after a fierce fight, and the men exchanged eager looks. They were astounded by what they saw! Inside were stacked shelves upon shelves of shining safety deposit boxes, each one holding a fortune that might change someone’s life.

Jimmy murmured, “Let’s do this! Hurry, bring the bag.” as he cautiously unlocked one safe lock after another. Their clumsy fingers worked with dexterity, but as they searched farther, packing up everything they discovered, Albert’s interest was aroused by what appeared to be a reinforced wooden chest.

He said to Jimmy, “This box looks strange, don’t you think?” “You told me about some cargo with rare items. Could this be the one?”

“I’m not sure, pal. But this thing does look weird. Look at those strange carvings…And it’s locked tighter than the rest. Gosh! I’m not able to open it…What shall we do? Leave this thing?”

Excitement raced through Albert’s eyes. “Wait…no! We can’t pass this opportunity up, Jim. What if it has something expensive inside? It could turn our lives around…Let’s take it!”

Albert and Jimmy decided quickly after they were unable to crack any more safes. “Alright, let’s take this chest with us along with the rest of the loot,” said Jimmy. “We’ll break it open in my house and see what’s inside.”

When it came time for their great escape that evening, he threw the reinforced box into the bag and they both slipped back down the tunnel to the bakery. “That was one helluva jackpot, pal! Fine, let’s not waste any time here. We need to leave this town before sunrise.”

After burning their fictitious paperwork and erasing their fingerprints, Albert and Jimmy got into the automobile. As they laughed and talked about their successful mission, the engine roared as they left the sleepy town.

Jimmy said excitedly as he pulled over outside his run-down home, “We made it, Albert! We’re back home with our treasure!” “Nobody will even know we were there! The cops will break their heads searching for a fake Simon and Arnold…Yuk! Yuk!”

“Oh Yeah, Jim. I’m so glad we did it! Now, let’s crack this thing open and split our share!” Albert laughed.

Jimmy moaned in his kitchen, “Damn, this thing is too tight,” and gave up trying to open the box. “Albert, let’s do this tomorrow, man. Been a long week for both of us. I’m so exhausted…You take the money bundles home. I’ll have this thing open by morning, and we’ll share the rest of what’s inside, okay?”

“That’s a bad idea, pal. My wife will suspect if I take this money home tonight. Let’s do one thing. You keep this with you…I’ll come again in the morning and take them with my share in that box,” Albert replied.

However, he was in for a major shock the following morning when he excitedly went to see Jimmy. Albert felt uneasy since Jimmy never responded to his persistent knocks and the door was locked from the inside.

Albert stood at Jimmy’s house, getting more and more anxious. “Did he run away with the loot? Why isn’t he opening the door?” Albert looked about the home, afraid his companion had made off with the treasure. He saw an open window at the back with its curtains billowing in the early wind.

Albert made his way through the glass to look for his pal. He said, “Jim, man, where are you?” But there were no indications of a human presence, and the house was deathly quiet. Silently, Albert walked to the kitchen, the last place he had seen Jimmy carrying the treasure trove.

He stepped again and ran into Jimmy’s corpse, which was on the ground behind the counter. All of the gems were strewn all over the floor close to Jimmy’s body, and the treasure chest was wide open.

Albert’s eyes widened in fear, “Oh, my God! Jim, what happened to you??” He felt the odd tone of Jimmy’s skin send shivers down his spine. “Oh no…did someone strangulate you?”

Albert’s thoughts raced, trying to process the horror he was seeing. The valuables were unaltered, and Jimmy’s home was secured from the inside out. Albert surmised that his companion had been murdered by someone who had broken in via the window. However, he was perplexed by the treasure’s undamaged state.

Albert was staring at the glittering gems when he noticed a strange ring with a large, sparkling stone that captured his attention. Its beautiful, complex patterns were unusual and drew Albert in.

Albert mumbled enthusiastically, “Wow, what a beautiful ring! It looks like a rare piece!” Filled with greed, Albert silently collected the treasure inside the box, believing his friend—the only person who had witnessed their heist—had passed away. After erasing his fingerprints, he drove off to tell his wife about their wealth.

Albert called out to his wife, “Emily, look what I found. Look at all these jewels and money! We’re rich! I don’t have to be a woodcutter anymore!” Then he put the money and jewelry on the bed and picked out the odd ring with stones in it. He laughed and kissed it, saying, “It looks like all those cursed ancient artifacts, doesn’t it?”

Emily, though, met Albert’s humor with a somber quiet. “Jesus! Where did you get so much money and jewels from? I hope you and that robber Jimmy didn’t do something wrong again,” she said with a scowl.

Emily was startled a few moments later by a loud smashing noise in their bedroom. As she dashed inside the room, she discovered Albert on the ground, his hands still clenched around the ring, his chest propped up.

“Oh, no…Albert, can you hear me? What happened…Oh my God, why is your nose bleeding? Albert…wake up…your skin’s turning blue. What happened to you…somebody, please help…” Emily was frantic.

Albert strained to utter his last words, “Get rid of it, it,” as his voice trailed off and he passed away on Emily’s lap, leaving her to be plagued by his unfinished remarks.

When Emily understood that she and her young daughter, Barbara, were in danger from the treasure strewn all over the floor, particularly the menacing ring in her deceased husband’s grasp, fear overcame her. She felt that the gems were really cursed, and she couldn’t get rid of it.

Emily carefully wrapped the money and artifacts in a torn fabric and hid them back in the chest, afraid to touch them. Her hands shook as she carried the box to the dumpster outside her house, fastened with a chain and lock. Emily froze in midair, staring at the chest she was holding.

She looked around and murmured, “What if this thing kills somebody else? No…I can’t let that happen.” It was then that she saw the hollow pine tree. Emily quickly threw the treasure chest and a letter alerting anyone who might discover it about the artifacts’ curse into the shadowy opening.

Barbara shed a tear as she recalled her father Albert’s tragic passing all those years ago. “And nobody could figure out how my Dad died,” Barbara said. “My mother told me about the treasure, and I thought it was just a tale. But now I understand why she never allowed me to go anywhere near that pine tree. I’m afraid you found something sinister intended to remain undisturbed and hidden in the dark…You have to get rid of it, Alan…”

Alan recognized he had discovered ancient relics that were probably cursed in addition to being stolen 80 years ago as he listened closely to his grandma. Still, a part of him begged him to resist his grandmother’s convictions.

“Well, Grandma, I’ve had these jewels with me for a day. And look! I’m alive! Nothing has happened to me. If these artifacts were cursed, I would’ve been dead by now!” He laughed.

Barbara yelled, “You have to get rid of them, Alan.” “They were not only stolen but also cursed. Whoever tries to possess them meets a gruesome death. Why would you want to invite such trouble into your life?”

“Oh, C’mon, Grandma! You’re still clinging to your old, foolish fables. Do you honestly believe in such tales? I don’t! And I want to become rich, okay? This treasure will help me have everything I’ve ever dreamed of!” Alan was arguing.

Barbara said, “I’m not kidding, Alan.” Alan became uneasy and stopped in his tracks when she said, “If you don’t get rid of these jewels and put them away, I’ll call the cops and have them seized.”

Alan then changed his mind, worried that Barbara would contact the police and have the treasure stolen. “Okay, okay, cool! You’re probably right, Grandma. I’ll not keep them, okay? I’ll bury these treasures deep in the woods where nobody will find them,” Alan said.

He gave his grandmother a tender hug before getting into his car and driving off with the treasure trove. Alan thought about the priceless treasures as he drove to the woods on the desolate country road. The red light on the signal stopped him in his tracks as he reached a junction, giving him a minute to reflect.

Alan looked at the treasure chest on the seat next to him and thought, “Do I have to spend my life cutting down trees and working hard every day at the warehouse for such a low wage…just to scrape by for food and gas?”

His avaricious eyes gleamed, “To hell with it! Finders, keepers!” Rather than going through the woods, Alan turned the wheel of his automobile and headed home. “I’ll sell these jewels for a great deal and settle down with my family! Why should I feed them to the soil when I can become rich?!” he murmured with a grin. However, destiny had other ideas.

Alan made that terrible decision, and barely 20 seconds later, a fast truck smashed through the crosswalk and struck his car with an enormous roar. The ill-fated treasure chest tumbled over from the car seat and landed exactly next to Alan’s bloodied dead body, and in that frantic second, Alan died on the spot.

After five hours, Barbara was still seated in the police station, crying uncontrollably, after identifying the belongings of her deceased grandson that had been found at the scene of the tragedy. A policeman came up to her and told her the story of the accident in a kind manner.

“Unfortunately, the impact was so severe that your grandson had little chance of survival,” he continued. Barbara’s already broken heart was stung by the words. “…Seems the truck’s brakes failed, and your grandson happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the cop continued.

“And one more thing, Mrs. Derek…we seized the treasure chest you mentioned in your report. We sent the contents for testing, and reports suggest the stone on the ring was coated with a rare slow poison.”

Barbara gave the officer a startled look. “And we believe this ring belongs to the Mayan civilization or something like that. Reports suggest they soaked the gems in lethal poison to make them shine brighter and deter thieves.”

Barbara’s face was bleeding profusely, and her heart wrenched with remorse and agony. With a dejected expression, she awkwardly exited the station and made her way to the morgue.

What lessons may we draw from this tale?

Easy money is frequently expensive. Alan chose to sell the cursed treasure rather than get rid of it in his haste to become wealthy over night and not have to work at all. He ultimately met a tragic end when a speeding truck struck his vehicle, instantly killing him.
Although working hard can be draining, the rewards are long-lasting. Jimmy and Albert wanted to get wealthy quickly. They plotted and executed a successful bank heist, but to their dismay, the loot proved to be a lethal, cursed treasure, sealing their doom. When Alan, Albert’s great-grandson, wanted to own the diamonds and sell them off to make money, he likewise suffered a similar fate some 80 years later.

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This essay was prepared by a professional writer and was motivated by anecdotes from our readers’ daily lives. Any similarity to real names or places is entirely accidental. All pictures are just meant to serve as examples. Tell us your tale, and perhaps it will make a difference in someone’s life.