I was standing in the middle of a beautiful island. The vast serene blue sea was surrounding the entire island. There were tons of luscious green trees everywhere I looked. There were a lot of little creatures roaming around. The only thing I could hear from across several miles was the sound from the waves. The glorious sun was shining down on me. It was like I was in a hot shower. There was also a gentle breeze swaying the boat closer to the shore. There were several seagulls flying around the island and our boat. 

We finally made it. “We reached the land sir,” yelled Larry. 

“I can see that Larry,” I replied. “I am about to be filthy rich beyond my own imagination,” I thought to myself. 

Larry was short and kind of pudgy. He was not the most athletic person but was still able to move swiftly when he wanted to. He has been my baby sitter, personal assistant ever since I could remember. He practically raised me and was the only real person that I knew all my life who cares for me. 

This island has not been inhabited for thousands of years and it holds a large amount of treasure beyond anyone’s imagination. The rumors state that no one who comes to this island has  returned. I thought this is a challenge that I will succeed and decided to be the first one who would return unharmed. I could already imagine myself owning a huge mansion, having a private jet. I would practically be a celebrity and the richest at that point.

“Let’s go Larry,” I alerted Larry.  

We made our way through the forest until we reached a deserted town. The houses and buildings looked abandoned. Most of it was already destroyed and it looked uninhabitable. However, in the center of the town, there was a large building that remained intact. This building was spectacular. It looked like it was just newly built recently and was in pristine condition. 

“That must be the building where all the treasures should be in,” I said. 

“You must be right sir, as always,” Larry said softly. 

We made our way towards the building. I took in one deep breath and stepped inside with Larry. It was too dark to see anything. I was glad we had packed flashlights. There was an extremely loud noise all of a sudden. It sounded like a rock slide. I thought the whole thing was going to collapse. 

“Get out of here,” I yelled.

Suddenly, there were very bright lights in the room. It was magnificent. I have never seen anything like this before. It was massive in size. The room was as big as our house. I started to look around more and realized that the door we walked into was not there anymore. We were inside four walls. 

“We are trapped sir,” Larry said. “What are all of those things?” he said shocked. 

I looked where Larry was pointing to. There were about fifty skeletons of humans. I began to sweat now, but I tried to stay calm. I didn’t want to scare Larry. 

“There must be a way out or a way to the treasure. This is like a puzzle,” I said. 

I looked around the room and saw that there were four button like things on the floor.

“I think we must stand on all four of them at once and it will open up a door,” I said to Larry. “Go over to that corner and put your bag down and then stand in that corner”. 

I did same thing as Larry but nothing happened. Perhaps the weight of our bags and our own weight are not just enough to push the plate down.  

“Maybe we should use the bones to weigh down the plates.” Larry said.

“It’s your idea Larry, so you should move the bones,” I said.

He looked hesitant at first but he eventually started to move the bones. After some time he finally came back and it looked like something started to happen.

There was a staircase starting to form in the middle of the large structure. I got off of the plate and started to walk towards the staircase. The staircase started to close and return to its original position. I bolted as fast as I could. The walls were almost closing in on me. I took one giant leap and hit the bottom of the staircase. Larry was not far behind. We made it to whatever it was. 

There was a pitch black and dreadful tunnel ahead. There were cobwebs everywhere. I was more careful this time to make sure that I was not stepping into any traps. I was walking for what felt like ages. The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Finally we came up to a wall with some writing on it. It said there are two paths, one to happiness and the other to riches. I was confused. I thought those are the exact same things. There was a large plate at the end of the hall way. Larry and I both stepped on it. Two doors opened, one to our left and one to our right. When I looked to our left, I saw its beauty. It was as shiny and bright as the sun. There was an unimaginable amount of gold, diamonds, and other jewels. On my right, I saw rays of light, probably coming from outside. I was on my way to go to the left side.

“Wait” Larry said. “If we both go to the left, the door will close in on itself and the exit will be closed. So one of us has to stay behind and keep this door open but then that person will be stuck here forever and the other may leave. If we both go to the right we both will be okay.” 

I thought for a second and thought of a solution. 

“Stay here Larry and I will leave through the left door,” I said. I started to head into that direction but suddenly I had a vision. I was in a massive house. I was on a porch and looked outside. My yard was size of a football stadium. There were five lamborghinis in my drive way. I thought to myself, this is incredible. I started running around the house to look at all the different rooms. All of them were huge. I went to the front door to take a walk outside, but I could not open it. I went to the other seven doors and saw they were all closed shut. I went back to the balcony. I saw Larry floating there looking horrified. I called out his name. There was no response from Larry. I started to sense tears in my eyes. Suddenly I felt limbless. I collapsed from the sadness. 

I opened my eyes and I was back at the tunnel. 

“Larry, which way would you like to go?” I asked. 

“Lets go right sir,” he responded quickly.

“Thank you for everything that you have done for me, Larry,” I said.

Today I learned that a friend is more valuable than all of the money world has to offer.

I found my true Treasure island!