Author : Preethika Balasubramani
The laughing sound in my room was so loud that it was creating an echo towards our yawn. It was my little sister Sherly who was making fun of me by making faces and imitating me. Sherly is everything for me. I hold my life with two things like two sides of the coin, One was my Sherly and other one was my job.
The Next day…
“Miss Laflare, we have given you this case since you are one of the best officers in this squad but your progress in this case was very slow, we have to find some clues for this mysterious case”, My senior officer with French beard urged me. Yes, I’m an officer in Intelligence squad solving the case of a mysterious murder of an 70 year old man. I have solved most of the mysterious cases but this case was very confusing and complicated.
On 17th July morning, approximately at 9 a.m., A man fell from 17th floor of his own apartment. He was perfectly dressed with an overcoat. So, he is ready for his office. His murder was unplanned. It may be an accident or suicide…. But as the floor was too high he couldn’t die himself accidently. So there is more chance for murder. I’m very much confused of the case.
“Miss detective your coffee is ready! It was nothing but surely with a cup of hot coffee. How is your mysterious case miss?” Sherly asked teasingly. “Confusing and different!” I replied. “Okay! let it be”, she said by drawing imaginary patterns in my hand. I finished off the coffee and looked for Sherly. She was not there. I stepped to her room. She was slept. Her room was full of books. She is doing her Ph.D. in Psychology. I lit off the lamp and looked her. She was very beautiful in her sleep. I smoothly patted her head.
I could remember everything about her. It was like yesterday! I was 18 at the time. I was doing my higher studies at my orphanage. One night when it was raining heavily I didn’t get any bus or share cab to reach the hostel and no one was there to pick me up. At that time in the heavy rain, I saw a little girl far away across the road. I ran toward her. She was shivering. Her hair was clearly messed. She was looking me deeply. Her eyes were full of fear and her tooth was broken. Her dress was full of blood spots. I booked a cab and wrapped her with the shawl I used to wore. I took her to my hostel. I asked who’s she? Where did she come from? Their parents? Nearly 100s of questions in that midnight. She didn’t answer and fell upon the floor of the hostel like a thing without life. I took her to the hospital. The doctor analysed her and gave her some glucose supplies. The doctor asked the details to me. I revealed everything happened. She needed rest and I slept on the bed nearby. The same cute sleep!!! Which she is giving now…
On the next day, I heard that she was absolutely alright and the doctor called the Psychiatrist. They asked me to wait outside. It took an hour. The doctor came and told, “She met with some terrible accident which I’m not sure about it, but the child can’t remember everything. If we continue asking about any past, it will affect her brain too…”
From the next day to still now, I didn’t even ask a single question to her. She is my Sherly. God’s gift to me… I will make her happy to the end… (While thinking of the old memories, she forgot about time. Soon she realised the real world and started to concentrate in her case.)
Ring… Ring… Ring… Ohh my phone! OMG!! I slept as such it was my officer who was calling me for past 5 minutes. I attended the phone call. The things he told just shook me from the bed to conscious. An another death! It was a person who was dead before 5 hours in the darkroom due to heart attack. What is happening around here? I’m confused a lot more. My instinct is always telling me there is some relation between these two cases!
On the next morning, I was in that room where the men was accused. I asked nearby people, there was no strong proof. But there is no power cut at that time. Some one has fused his circuit alone! Something fishy happened there. I looked at the photo of the man. That was taken recently I guess so. OMG I had seen him already! I had seen him somewhere when I was with Sherly. Suddenly I started the car and reached the home. Sherly was preparing for her exams. “Sherly ! I need a minute”, I said “Okay, but after my studies” she replied teasingly. I suddenly reached her and showed the photo and asked, “Have we seen him already?” Sherly thought for few minutes and replied that we have seen him in the TV show. He was a famous Guitarist. Now, I could recollect everything. Yes he was the one who spoke about many notes and how the music was… And he said that he was afraid of dark. For that he told the technical term Nyctophobia. I started collecting details about him. I too enquired his room . The room was dark and things were here and there. The sofa in the room was Upside down and TV remote was in the floor. I can visualize what happened here. He got afraid of something in the TV and he might fall down from the sofa after that he tried to open the door but it was locked from out. It was just a blind guess. Whatever, I’m confident in one thing. Both of them were afraid and scientifically stuck in Phobia in their last minute of death.
A week pass by and I went to forensic analyst to collect some reports. My phone rang and I got a sudden instinct that something was not fine. In this time, it was two murders. One was dipped in the sea and other one I may not guess so it was an accident. It was easy to detect that they were afraid of fire and sea. So it’s definitely a murder. I went to the spot which was near the port. Actually the man in the sea was missing for a month. According to me he was dead first. His body was completely unidentified. I finished the formalities and his houseowner detected it was his tenant using his tattoo of skeleton on his shoulder. And the other murder was happened today at 9 a.m. The man was driving his car at a high speed, he was alcoholic and so he lost his control and smashed the car on a tree.
I don’t know whether the fifth is planned or unplanned. I thought that I might fail in my job. Higher officials were started to give me pressure to finish the case. I went to home with broken heart. My little girl Sherly came, “What happened? She asked with her wide eyes opened.” “Nothing dear! I think I’m gonna fail in my job. I need privacy”, I replied and locked the door and sat in my bed. Suddenly I slept within minutes.
When I woke up, it was very dark. I looked my phone it was 1 a.m. OMG I scolded Sherly. She would be upset. I walked slowly because I felt like I lacked all my energy. I reached her room. There were nobody in the room. The room was very clean. My girl has grown up. I called her. Her mobile was ringing in the bedside. Suddenly I spotted the diary which was in her room. I opened the 1st page! Oh! my instinct again. These are her words “Hi, My lovable sissy! Welcome to my room. Go forward. Answers are here for your questions.”
I started to turn the pages one by one. I shocked when I see the pictures of four man who were killed. The fifth one was an accident not involved to the case.
Her words are, “Sissy! On that day you wrapped a little girl in a white blanket to the home. But on that day the world’s most cruel animals haunted her mother like a beast. She remembered every inch of it. Yes, Sister my mom was so beautiful like you. But she was afraid of men because a man had cheated her and gave her a baby and threw her out with some money. I didn’t mean all those men in the world. But those cruel people opposite to our place raped my mom and killed her. When I came to hit those people they have thrown me away like a trash. My tooth was broken. And my mom too died. With the same widened eyes I by-hearted all those faces. I walked out. You saw me and all happened. But how can I leave them. I studied Psychology and side-by I collected details about them . I showed the life of death and cruelty at the last minute of their death. I attacked them with their weakness. They fell down like broken trees in the storm. I thought their screaming at the last moment can console my mom’s screaming which was haunting my ears daily. My Sissy! I love you the most and I have attached all the evidences and the place now I was in at the last page. I’m not afraid of punishments. So handover this diary to the police and do your duty. Have a happy life and marry your loved one. And the thing I wanna say is, ‘I saw my mom in you’, surely these diary contains all evidences and lots of my tears…”, my Sherly’s words ended.
“Mine too”, I said to myself while wiping my tears with my hankie.
I took my car and went to the station. After an hour, I came out with a letter in my hand. Yes, I resigned my job. You people may ask, “Why?” Why Because I’m a woman who loves both my Job and my Sherly, but somehow I loved Sherly more… She gave punishments to four brutal animals. I resigned my job because I can’t be in that job anymore because somehow I’m hiding the truth.
In the night, I went to ride on boat towards deep sea which she often took me at nights. I looked the sea for five minutes. This time my wish was to make her forget everything including me and to lead a new life. I then threw that diary into the sea. I don’t wanna search for where she was. But one thing is sure She should be safe. Yes! She will be. The night, the sea and my mind, everything is in peace now!
” In life, there would be some bitter truth behind every pain and every failure. This truth once revealed may either solve the problem or may cause some other problem too. Here, the truth revealed caused me and my Sherly not to meet anymore. And I have resigned my job too. Some bitter incidents might kill you for life time. You may decide to reveal that to someone so close to your heart oneday, but who knows even that will make you to move apart. Yes! if that case was not solved by me and I didn’t see the diary, atleast I could be with my Sherly. But things once happened cannot get back and words once given cannot be forgotten. So, think before you speak or act because there is no UNDO in life. It is a one time opportunity.”
Hope you all like the story. Hit the star if you like it and feel free to comment below.
Mighty Pen Articles 