Alien Treasure Map

Alien Treasure Map - - 300 words, including title.

The weirdest work experience I've ever had? A wide-eyed man once came in and laid a rock on the counter. It looked like iron ore melted into a thick coin. After finishing business with another customer, I addressed him: "How can I help you?"

"Do you know what this is?" He asked. Before I could move to find the acid solutions to test the metal, he continued: "I think it's platinum. It's a treasure map."

"Really?" I said. I was a master at feigning interest. I passed a magnet over it, but it didn't respond. I picked up the coin and examined it closely. It could be platinum, I thought.

"The grooves on the coin represent valleys around the area; all the ridges represent mountain ranges. The Spanish - or aliens, I'm not sure because I can't speak Spanish or Alien - wrote on the coin and buried it. I found it in my yard mixed with some gravel."

I looked across the room at my coworker. She was just close enough to be able to hear him and she wore an unsympathetic smile that said, "I'm glad it's you and not me."

"Well, have you found anything yet?"

"I did find this foot-stone." He pulled another rock out of a red shoulder bag. It was an ordinary river rock, but he proceeded to point out squares, triangles, and other marks. "It's another piece of the map. It's weird, man. When you put cigarette ash on it, the ash gravitates towards the edges and forms a 3D image. I found that out by accident."

I couldn't take it anymore. "Better start hunting -- Let me know what you find! If it's gold, we'll buy it."

The wide-eyed man picked up his stones and left. I never saw him again.