Alan, a 41-year-old family man, was down on his luck. Frustrated by his boss denying his raise and hearing from his wife that they were out of groceries, his spirits sank.

Sitting on his porch, sipping coffee, he noticed the pine trees outside. “I can sell these logs to buy groceries and gas,” he thought, grabbing an ax.

As Alan chopped down the trees, a crumpled paper fell out of one. “What’s this?” he wondered, dropping his ax. The message read: “This treasure is cursed. Please get rid of it.”

“Treasure? Where?!” Excited and puzzled, he pocketed the letter and peeked into the hollow tree. Inside lay an ancient chained chest, untouched for centuries.

“Finally! Let’s see what’s inside,” he said, breaking the lock with his ax. The chest creaked open, revealing sparkling gold, jewels, and stacks of dollars.

“Oh my…Jesus Christ!” Alan exclaimed. “I’ve never seen so much gold and money! I’m rich! I don’t have to work anymore!”

Thrilled by the treasure, he was unsettled by the warning. He stared at the gleaming contents, his mind racing. Now he had to make a choice, ignore the warning and finally get out of poverty or get rid of the chest and forget about it.

Alan took a deep breath and picked up a gold coin, feeling its weight in his hand. The reality of the fortune before him was almost too much to comprehend. “Maybe the warning was just to scare people off,” he thought. “How can I throw away this chance?

That night, he told his wife, Karen, about his find. Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you serious, Alan? This could change everything for us!”

“But there was a warning,” Alan said, showing her the crumpled paper.

Karen’s excitement dimmed. “A curse? What if it’s real? We’ve had enough bad luck as it is.”

Alan sighed. “I know. But we can’t ignore this opportunity. Let’s just use a small part of it to get back on our feet, then we can decide what to do with the rest.”

Reluctantly, Karen agreed. They took a handful of coins and sold them discreetly, paying off their debts and stocking up on groceries. For a few weeks, life was better than ever. Alan even started a small home repair business with the extra cash, and things seemed to be turning around.

One night, Alan woke to a strange noise. He found the chest glowing faintly in the moonlight, an eerie light seeping from its edges. His heart pounded as he a

Karen rushed in, her face pale. “Alan, what’s happening?”

Before he could answer, shadows poured from the chest, filling the room with an ominous presence. They twisted and turned, whispering in a language Alan couldn’t understand. One shadow moved closer, its form becoming almost human.

“Return what you have taken,” it hissed. “The curse is real. Ignore it at your peril.”

Alan stepped back, fear gripping his heart. He knew then that the warning wasn’t a joke. “I-I’m sorry,” he stammered. “We’ll return everything.”

The shadows retreated slightly, their whispers growing softer but no less menacing. Alan and Karen gathered every coin, every jewel they had taken, and placed them back in the chest. The moment they did, the chest snapped shut, and the eerie light disappeared.

In the following days, the effects of the curse seemed to lift. The ominous presence in their home vanished, and peace returned. Alan realized that no amount of wealth was worth the terror they had experienced. He and Karen decided to bury the chest deep in the woods, far away from anyone who might find it.

As they covered the chest with dirt and leaves, Alan felt a sense of relief. “We may not be rich,” he said, “but at least we’re safe.”

Karen nodded, taking his hand. “We’ll find our way, Alan. Together.”

And they did. Alan’s small business grew, and they managed to rebuild their lives with hard work and determination. The memory of the cursed treasure faded, but the lesson it taught them remained clear: some things are worth more than gold, and some warnings should never be ignored.