It was a chilled autumn morning.  Kyle and Sherry were taking a stroll along a wooded path with branches stretching over the trail.  They had their arms around each other.  Sherry was walking barefoot holding her shoes in her hand feeling the fresh fallen leaves. Sherry glanced at a small pile of leaves and ran towards it kicking the leaves around.  She snagged something on her foot.

“What is it?” Kyle walked up to her.

“My foot caught something.”

They looked down and saw a golden necklace with a heart chain with a golden serpent head.

“I wonder how much it is worth.”  He stared at the necklace.

“We should find out.”  She picked up the necklace and examined it.

#

They walked into a goldsmith shop.

“May I help you?” A happy man was staring at them as they approached the counter.

“We found this along the Shepherd Creek Trail.”  Kyle handed him the necklace.  “We were wondering how much it is worth.”

The man’s eyes opened wide.  He snatched the necklace from Kyle’s hand.  “The Serpent of Dark Wind.”  He examined it closer.  “It was stolen the museum last week.  There is a big reward for its return.”

“How much?” Kyle’s eyes were wide open.

#

The reward for the return of the Serpent of Dark Wind necklace was ten million dollars.  Kyle and Sherry collected their reward, and they were truly living happily ever after.  The next day the police were able to catch to thieves of which they were rewarded ten thousand dollars.

#

A week had passed since Kyle and Sherry became millionaires.  They were snuggling each other as they were strolling along a path through the town park.  Sherry saw fresh fallen leaves up ahead.  She glanced at Kyle.

“Why not?” She yanked off her shoes and socks and ran to the leaves and kicked them around.

“What do you think you’ll find?” Kyle giggled.  “A million-dollar bill?  Maybe you will strike gold.”

Sherry felt something wrap around her big toe.  She lifted her foot to find what looked like foreign currency.  Kyle watched in disbelief as she took it off her toe and unraveled it.  Giving it a hard stare, she asked, “It looks like a dollar bill from some country.  Where could it be from?”

#

They walked into a local bank.

“May I help you?” asked the lady at the welcome desk.

“We found this along the path in the town park.”  Kyle handed her the currency.

Her eyes opened wide as she took the currency.  She quickly started typing on her computer.  She looked around at her screen, and she was flabbergasted.

“Unless I have a serious problem with my vision,” she said, “this is a one hundred thousand denarii bill, and it was the only one hundred thousand denarii bill ever made.  It was stolen from a bank vault in Washington three weeks ago.  There is a massive reward for the return of this bill and an even greater reward for and tip that leads to the arrest of the thieves.”

#

The one hundred thousand denarii bill was returned, and Kyle and Sherry received the massive reward.  A week later, the thieves were arrested with Kyle and Sherry receiving the reward.

#

Three weeks went by.  Kyle and Sherry had their arms around each other tight as they were walking along a boardwalk through a marsh on a chilled fall morning.  Despite the chill Sherry was barefoot leaving her shoes at home.  As they neared the end of the boardwalk, they saw it covered with leaves.  They glanced into each other’s eyes.

“What will you find this time?” Kyle wondered.

“Let’s find out.” She said as she ran towards the leaves.