Every once in a while I will encounter something in my treasure hunting expeditions that leaves me feeling uneasy. But despite all of my findings, only once have I been so truly intimidated by something that I left an artifact behind. This is the story of the Treasure I Didn't Take.
Several years ago while exploring the woods near my home with my father, since it was a spot which he and I liked to visit together for bonding time, we encountered something completely out of place which had not been there before.
Deep into the overgrown vegetation we discovered a clearing which formed a perfect circle around a small tree with low branches. Around the circle, sticks had been carefully staked into the ground and vines had been strung along the top of them to create a border around the circumference. One of the low hanging branches on the short tree in the center of the clearing bore a strange pendant which dangled from the branch by the chain. The necklace looked as though it had been deliberately strung onto the branch and was at a perfect height and distance from the tree that one could not help but notice it glimmer in the light as they approached. But for some reason the necklace, which appeared to be gated in by the branched and ceremoniously strung onto this center tree amidst the clearing, gave off a foreboding aura which warned me not to claim the necklace for myself despite my treasure hunting instincts.
Intuition, common sense, or superstition persuaded my inner greed and curiosity to leave this piece of treasure behind and to count my blessings. Not knowing what the wood and golden emblem, the meticulously cleared ground, or staked stick and vine border prepared around it signified I decided it would be wiser to not disturb them. So, although I did not claim this bizarre artifact for myself, I managed to use my long distance zoom lens to photograph the necklace from beyond the foreboding perimeter to pass on the story of what we found and to hopefully, somehow, find some answers.
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