The chest realized Andy was its true owner and that mother earth had only been guarding it until his arrival. And so, the chest released its grip on its corroded seams and hinges and opened up for its rightful owner, revealing the treasure it had been keeping safe over the years. Andy gazed inside. What the hell?
On the very top was an envelope that read “HELLO!” in large letters. The envelope was vacuum sealed in plastic to protect it from any elements out to destroy it. Andy picked up the envelope, looked it over in bewilderment, and set it aside. Then, he began taking out the contents one by one examining them quickly and then placing them on the ground. The chest was full of books, notebooks, journals, and various knick-knacks, which were individually vacuum-sealed in plastic.
Once the chest was completely emptied, Andy placed all the contents back inside, grabbed the envelope, and sat down on the boulder. He took out his pocketknife, gently cut off the end of the plastic seal, and removed the envelope.
The envelope was sealed, so Andy took the blade of his knife and slit an opening at the top. He removed the piece of paper inside, unfolded it, and began reading.
Hello!
If you are reading this and had a dream last night in which you received instructions on how to find this chest, then you are the rightful owner. If not, then please place everything back and return it to its resting place.
Good. Now that we have that settled, if you’re not sitting down, then you might want to do so now.
Andy looked up from the letter, perplexed, his mind slowly digesting what he had just read. He stared blankly ahead at the willow tree as the realization began to take ahold of him. He started to go back to reading the letter when he noticed something very odd about the tree. He squinted his eyes to focus better, then he shook his head trying to clear his vision and took another look. It was still there. What in the actual hell? There, staring right back at him, was a winky face in the side of the willow. I’ve got to be losing my mind. Andy opened his eyes wide, then went back to reading the letter.
Life is a mystery; Where did we come from? What are we doing here? Where do we go? Do we come back? These are questions we have been trying to answer for thousands of years. And while life might very well be a mystery better off “lived”, sometimes, part of life is a mystery better off being “solved”. And that, my good friend, is exactly what you have done!
You see, the fact that you are sitting here and reading this letter is PROOF, that we do indeed, come back!
Thunder erupted in the distance, then slowly made its way toward Andy, shaking the ground all around him. Andy looked up from the letter as the sudden realization of what was going on hit home, sending a shiver down his spine. You have got to be shitting me!