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

"This treasure is cursed. Please get rid of it," a desperate Alan finds a cryptic note in a hollowed tree while cutting it. He then discovers a chest in the cavity and visits his Grandma, who reveals an awful truth about the finding.

It was a breezy autumn evening in 1990. 41-year-old Alan sat on his porch, counting the sparse coins in his weathered hands. He lived with his wife Eve and their son Robbie and had run out of money to buy groceries.

As Alan sipped his coffee, wondering what to do, his gaze fell upon the towering willow trees outside his house. An idea struck him. "I can sell these logs to buy groceries and gas!" he exclaimed as he fetched an ax from his garage.

Alan began chopping down the trees one by one, and as the ax struck another trunk, a strange crumpled paper plopped out of its hollow. Curious, Alan picked it up and unfolded the creases, only to gasp at the words: "This treasure is cursed. Please get rid of it."

Curious, Alan pocketed the paper and peeked into the tree's cavity. His heart leaped when he noticed a strange chained-up wooden chest resting on the dark surface and decided to bring it out.

"I've got you…you heavy old chest!" Alan panted and puffed as he hoisted the heavy box to the surface. Wielding his ax, he shattered the rusty lock, and as the lid creaked open, he jumped back in surprise.

"Oh, my God! I've never seen such wealth!" Alan was paralyzed with shock as he gazed at a dazzling assortment of gold and diamond jewels and stacks of money. His mind raced at the thought of not having to work hard again in the sawmill.

However, the cryptic warning message unsettled him. "What a strange note. Grandma lived here long back. She must know something about this," Alan pondered and decided to visit his Grandma Doris, who lived in a farmhouse five miles away, for answers.

"Jesus Christ! I never imagined the tale would be true!" Doris recoiled in horror when Alan placed the treasure chest before her and handed the mysterious note.

"What story? Do you know something about this treasure, Grandma?" Alan pressed Doris.

Reluctantly, Doris began to recount a tale from 80 years ago involving Alan's great-grandfather, Lewis. "Your great-grandpa wasn't the most honest man. It happened 80 years ago…in July of 1910…when Dad met his best friend at the pub and learned of a rare treasure…" she began.

Lewis and his friend Gustavo were enjoying a drink at a dimly lit pub when Gustavo mentioned an enticing opportunity to become rich in one night. "Man, listen up," he whispered. "Heard the bank in the town nearby houses a rare and precious cargo!"

Lewis's eyes lit as he downed another drink. "Precious cargo? That's some news, Gus! This could be our big break!"

Gustavo grinned mischievously. "Yeah…And no more petty scores and mugging people! It's time for the big jackpot…We do it quietly…no weapons. Only wits!" Leaving the pub, the friends retired to Gustavo's shabby house on the outskirts of town, where they plotted their heist to rob the bank.

With forged documents, their last bit of savings, and a strange plan, Lewis and Gustavo set off toward the neighboring town the next morning.

They rented an old bakery next to the bank, posing as chefs John and Peter, and even paid the greedy landlord extra money to silence him and hide their true identities.

"It's been a week, and today's the big day, Gus," Lewis whispered as he arranged pastries. "Do you think it'll work?"

"It's now or never, pal! Keep the bakery bustling while I get back to business," Gustavo wickedly grinned as he grabbed a shovel and discreetly made his way to the back of the bakery to finish digging the secret tunnel leading to the bank vault.

As Lewis donned a baker's apron and tended to customers, Gustavo meticulously toiled the whole day, following the markings on a roughly drawn map that revealed the vault's location.

After what felt like an eternity, Gustavo's efforts paid off as he kicked open a hidden panel leading to the concealed passageway. "I'm a born thief!" he chuckled triumphantly and hurried to fetch his friend.

In the stillness of the night, Lewis and Gustavo crawled through the secret passage beneath the bank's basement and made their way to the vault. Without modern alarms or advanced technology, their heist remained undetected.

The wait was frustrating, and after a laboring struggle, the metal door of the vault swung open. Lewis and Gustavo's eyes widened at the row of glistening safety deposit boxes stacked inside, each holding a potentially life-changing fortune.

They broke one safe lock after another and bagged the loot when Lewis noticed a strange reinforced wooden chest that stood out from the rest.

"Gus, something about this box feels strange, don't you think?" he whispered. "You told me about some precious cargo with a rare treasure. Could this be it?"

"I'm not sure, pal," Gustavo replied. "But it does look weird. Look at those strange carvings…."

Excitement surged through Lewis's veins to know what was inside the box. "What if it holds something valuable? Let's take it, Gus!"

When the men couldn't crack open the remaining safes, they swiftly made a decision. "Alright, we'll take this chest with us along with the rest of the loot," Gustavo agreed. "We'll break it open at my house and share its contents."

Tossing the wooden chest into the bag, Lewis and Gustavo crawled back to the bakery through the tunnel, making their grand escape that very night.

"The cops will break their heads looking for a fake John and Peter!" Gustavo laughed as he tried cracking open the chest back home. "Damn, it's too tight," he sighed. "I'm drained, pal. Take the money bundles home. I'll have this thing open by morning, and we'll split the share, alright?"

But Lewis hesitated. "That's not a good idea. If my wife sees the money, she'll become suspicious. I'll come back in the morning and collect my share, Gus."

The friends agreed, but when Lewis excitedly returned the next day, he was in for a massive shock. Gustavo's house was locked from the inside, and he never answered his knocks. Fearing his friend had run off with the treasure, Lewis searched around the house and spotted an open window at the back.

He climbed through the window, and as he explored the house, he stumbled upon Gustavo's lifeless body lying in the kitchen. The chest lay open, and all the jewels were scattered near his body.

"Oh, my God, Gus...what happened to you?" Lewis gasped. A chill ran down his spine when he noticed Gustavo's unusual complexion and assumed he had been strangled to death.

Aware his friend, the sole witness to their robbery, was dead, Lewis greedily gathered the jewels in the box and fled home in his car to enjoy the riches.

"What a beautiful ring! It must be worth a fortune!" Lewis whispered excitedly as he lifted a glistening stone-studded ring from the chest. "It reminds me of those cursed ancient artifacts!" he chuckled to his wife, Emily, planting a kiss on the ring.

"Oh, please don't tell me you and that good-for-nothing Gustavo got involved in something illegal again," Emily walked away, sighing. Moments later, she heard a loud cry in their bedroom and found Lewis collapsed on the floor.

"This ring...it is...get rid of it..." he gasped and died, gripping the large stone-studded ring in his hand. Fearing the curse of the treasure would follow, Emily decided to get rid of it.

She quickly slipped on a glove and returned the jewels to the chest, securing it with a lock and chain. Just as Emily looked for a secret spot to hide it, she saw a hollow willow tree and hastily threw the chest inside, leaving a note warning of the curse.

"...And this is what happened," Doris recounted. "I'm afraid you found something sinister that was meant to remain in the dark. You have to get rid of it, Alan."

However, Alan was skeptical of the curse and dismissed his Grandma's concerns. But when she threatened to report the findings to the cops, he reluctantly agreed to bury the treasure chest in the woods.

Alan hugged Doris and departed with the chest in tow. However, greed overtook him when he halted his car at a red signal in an intersection.

"Why should I get rid of the treasure when I can become rich and not work at all?! As the old saying goes, finders, keepers!" he chuckled greedily. Just as Alan took the fateful decision and turned around to head home, a speeding truck rammed into his car and killed him on the spot.

Hours later, Doris and Alan's wife sat in the police station, waiting for the officer to identify the body.

"It happened because of these cursed treasures," Doris whispered, tears streaking down her cheeks.

"I don't think so," the cop interrupted. "Your grandson was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately, the severity of the crash was so impactful that your grandson had little chance of survival. It's just a coincidence."

"As for the antiquities... it's unlikely they were cursed. We sent them for testing, and reports suggest the stone on one of the rings was coated with a thick layer of rare poison. Archaeologists are still working on theories of the treasure's origin. Mostly the gems were soaked in some kind of ancient, lethal poison to make them shine brighter and deter thieves."

Doris's face drained of blood on hearing this, and she clumsily left the station to the morgue.

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When a poor dad wondered how to get his little daughter a birthday cake, he found a jar of money buried in his lawn while digging it. To his surprise, it was not the only jar in there. Click here to read the full story.

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