Renovating a house comes with its set of challenges and complications, especially if you plan on doing the job on your own. Angie and Eddie, residents of Arizona, were on one such mission of renovating their house that they have been living in for more than two years now.
The most challenging part of this renovation was tackling the kitchen. And it was during this process of breaking down the kitchen counters, the couple stumbled upon something odd. Thus began a remarkable journey for the two of them, as they made the most unbelievable discovery of their lives.
It was a warm morning in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The sun rays poured in through the cracks in the blinds awaiting to be greeted by Angie's eyes. She buried herself in the warm sheets and pillows not wanting to wake up. It was a weekend which usually meant she could stay in bed till noon but not today. Eddie had planned to start the renovation this week.
Angie and Eddie moved into their house more than two years ago as newlyweds. Angie was and still is in love with this place. This is why she was interested in the renovation project instead of moving houses. They had made so many memories within these walls she couldn't find it in her heart to leave them behind.
Fortunately, Eddie agreed with her and as a result, he decided to renovate the place instead. Now Eddie was very much a typical handyman who knew his way around tools and fixtures. Which is why he decided to work on the house himself. Angie was not the biggest fan of this idea but she put on her best supportive-wife-face and allowed it.
Angie turned over to see Eddie is not in their bed. That means he is already downstairs preparing for the big day. She got herself down the stairs and into the kitchen. Just like she predicted, Eddie was busy making breakfast for them. She smiled at herself wondering how she got so lucky.
Once the couple was done with breakfast, it was time to get started with the preparations. Eddie had a plan fixed already. He was going to start with the top floors and then make his way downstairs covering the living room and the kitchen at last. He had a list of supplies already put together. All that was left to do was buying the items on the list.
Eddie got in his car and made his way to WalMart. He was confident he will find all the supplies in their warehouse. But he couldn't have been more wrong. And after spending the whole day searching for supplies, by the time Eddie was done getting together his stuff, it was already late. He decided to get up early the next morning and get started with the bedrooms on the top floor.
The next day, Eddie began working on the bedrooms. The main task for bedrooms was changing the shabby carpet that has been covering the floor for so many years. As challenging as it may sound, Eddie had planned on installing wooden panels on the floor. So that's what he wanted to get started with, he took his saw and began to cut up the wooden panels according to the floor plan.
Angie could hear the sound of Eddie's hammer and saw in action on the top floor. She can't believe he took up this project on his own. It is time-consuming for sure, but also it is difficult to do everything alone. Yet she never heard him complain once. A few hours into the renovation, she packed up some lunch and took it upstairs for a little break.
Just like magic, slowly but steadily, the house was coming together beautifully. The first room Angie saw took her breath away. Eddie was a true perfectionist for sure. Their bathroom looked like something out of a fancy hotel. She couldn't wait to see what he had planned for the kitchen and the living room.
When it came to planning for the kitchen, Eddie knew what he had in mind for the most part. He wanted to get rid of the old kitchen counters but was planning on keeping the floors as it is. As simple as it sounds, tearing apart kitchen counters is going to be messy.
Eddie got started with the kitchen early in the day to get things done as fast as possible. The process turned out to be more tedious than he thought. Turns out taking apart kitchen counters is not as fun as it sounds. Little did he know, this tedious process is about to become one of the most remarkable incidents of his life.
Eddie was done tearing most of the kitchen counters, all but one. The one in the farthest corner was still standing mighty. For some reason, when Eddie tried to unscrew its panels it made no difference to the counter. No matter how much force he put into it, the counter would not budge!
Eddie knew there was only one option left now. He will have to break apart the counter and remove it. He took out his ax and began to break down the counter. Only when he had completely removed the counter successfully, Eddie was able to see what was beneath it.
Eddie saw some dust and dirt around it but he could still make out what it is. It took him a moment to gather his senses and call out for Angie. She came rushing into the kitchen assuming the worst that he might have injured himself. She found him kneeling beside something but couldn't figure out what it is.
Eddie brushed off the dirt from the item he found, only reveal to Angie what it actually was. It was a safe, an actual safe buried underground and found beneath a kitchen counter! Angie's eyes went wide as she realized what the found item is. They exchanged bewildered looks. They couldn't wrap their heads around something so bizarre!
Eddie tried to open the safe but it was obviously locked. How could they guess what the code for the safe is? He looked at Angie for some answers but her expressions mimicked his. Eddie made some random guesses and attempted to open the safe. But his attempt went in vain because the lock did not budge. The safe easily looked decades old and there was no way a random guess will open the lock on it.
Eddie assumed maybe he could break open the lock. But it was risky because even if he breaks the lock there is no guarantee the safe will open instead of shutting down for good. Angie was equally confused too. She thought instead of trying to break open the lock themselves maybe it's better to contact a locksmith who might know how to open this.
Eddie was not onboard with this idea. Clearly finding a buried safe in your kitchen is not a common affair. Plus who knows what is inside of it, what if it's booby-trapped? And as soon as they try to open the safe without the code, it explodes in the middle of their kitchen then and there. It is better if they tackle this issue themselves.
Angie stood there pondering over this for a moment or two when suddenly her expressions changed. She recalled something which somehow felt connected to this whole situation. One thing even Eddie couldn't remember was that they do have a code for a safe. They found one when they first came to this house!
Angie tried to remind Eddie about the time when they first moved into this house. She was setting up the kitchen and found some kind of code inside one of the kitchen cabinets. At that moment, they didn't think anything of it but decided to put it aside for the time being. But now, discovering this safe somehow makes it hard for her to believe that the code was not related to it.
It has been more two years since they first moved into this place. So Angie was having a hard time remembering where she kept the code. She couldn't remember if it was tucked away in one of the cabinets or if she put it aside in one of her drawers or maybe her closet. After searching for it for quite some time, Angie managed to find the code inside her closet.
Eddie was surprised by what his morning has turned out to be. He was just minding his own business renovating the kitchen and now he is busy trying to unlock a secret safe he found buried in his kitchen! What a strange turn of events. Angie passed the code to him to try it on the safe. Unfortunately, the lock on the safe did not budge.
Angie was disappointed, to say the least. She really thought the code is related to the safe they found. After all, both things were found in the kitchen itself. Eddie tried to put the code in again, and again. He tried the code almost 3-4 times until finally the lock on the safe twisted! Angie couldn't believe the code actually worked!
Eddie carefully opened the safe and took a look at what was inside it. The very first thing that caught his attention were hundred dollar bills. Many many hundred dollar bills. There was also a bottle of bourbon kept inside, along with a book. The couple stared at the, now open, safe, dumbstruck by its content.
Angie discreetly took out the items from inside the safe and placed them on Eddie's coat lying next to her. The hundred dollar bills came to a total of $51,080! The stack of money also contained some old $2 bills. The couple was astonished by the total sum of the money. Is this too good to be true?
Apart from the money, there were two more things inside the safe, one of which was a bottle of bourbon. Eddie recognized the bourbon bottle instantly. It was from a private stash of James E. Pepper, who was the inventor of one of the most famous cocktails named 'old fashioned'.
The last thing in the safe was a book, titled 'A Guide For The Perplexed'. This book was written by 'E. F. Schumacher' and published in 1977. E. F. Schumacher is well known for his economics essay book called 'small is beautiful'. It is said that five days before he died, he gave this book, A Guide For The Perplexed, to his daughter saying it includes philosophical foundations of Small is Beautiful.
Angie took out the book and opened it to see a photograph of a man tucked inside it. There was a message scribbled at the back of the photograph. It said, "Alan, I have a book you must read. I have underlined a few key passages. Your friend, Vincent". Angie couldn't help but wonder how many years this book has been locked away in that safe.
The very first passage Angie found underlined in the book read, "Most modern readers will be reluctant to believe that perfect happiness is attainable by methods of which their modern world knows nothing." At first, she didn't think much about the underlined passages. But then she found another passage which felt like it was saying something to her.
The passage read, "One way of looking at the world as a whole is by means of a map, that is to say, some sort of plan or outline that shows where various things are to be found." She wondered if this passage is some kind of indirect message to search for more things because there were additional items tucked inside this book.
The book also contained a bingo card that had 54, 66 and 3 circled. Angie couldn't understand what these numbers are supposed to mean. Is it the unlocking code to some other safe? Because there were more signs, all of them hidden inside the book.
There was another old photograph which showed an old house with a tree with three trunks. There was a note scribbled at the back of the photo saying, "where one tree becomes three". The couple couldn't believe this is happening. Because it seems to look a lot like a treasure hunt with clues and guides to lead them to a place.
The last card had a map of Arizona on it. It had marked a few points on the map, which mentioned Phoenix, Mesa, and Tucson. Now they know they found this safe in Phoenix, does that mean the other safe is in Mesa? Because Mesa was marked with an X. Is that where the house is? The one with the three trunks tree? Eddie had so many questions in his mind.
The couple couldn't believe this is happening for real. What are they supposed to do with this safe and these items? What are they supposed to do with this money? It clearly didn't belong to them and they can't follow the 'finders keepers' theory. Although, it might be the only sane option as of now. But Angie had one more idea.
Angie decided to share this event with people. She took pictures of every item and captioned the whole event that happened in her kitchen. She posted it online on her social media handles in an attempt to find some answers. She was hoping maybe someone will understand the hidden message behind it or maybe recognize the picture.
Angie ended her story by saying "If Alan is still out there, please contact us. We're keeping the bourbon though!" She knew it's impossible to find a genuine story but she could only hope people might help them understand the clues better.
Before they knew it, Angie's story went viral on the internet as the couple who found a secret safe in their house. People from all over the country were contacting them and commenting on the post. Angie was surprised at the reaction they were getting from people. Additionally, there were way too many people joking to be Alan!
Eddie and Angie learned it the hard way that putting out a post did not turn out to be helpful at all. People were either commenting about being Alan or telling ridiculous stories about the possible treasure that these clues will lead them to.
There was also a good percentage of people who were calling the couple out saying they are bluffing everyone on social media by their fake story. There is no way they could find so much money and so many clues hidden away in a safe inside their kitchen. Angie didn't feel the need to justify herself to anybody. But she knew she can't turn to them to look for answers.
Despite the bizarre event, Eddie finished the renovation project beautifully and the couple was living in a brand new house now. They decided not to follow the map or the clues. And the couple has still not decided what to do with the money. Angie is hopeful they will find a good reason to spend this money one day. But it won't be for personal possessions.