Creative Minds

Charu was fidgeting in her chair. Only a few days ago, she was attending her class as a law graduate and here she was at Fort Kochi, trying to figure out a mysterious code on one of the old books she had bought from the old library while taking a stroll on the David Hall Road.

Since she was a little girl, she loved to play the role of Miss. Watson while her best friend, Sheryl Verghese used to be Miss. Sherlock as both of them pretended to be a pair of private eyes. She felt a sense of déjà vu as she looked at the cover page of the book she had on her lap. It was an abstract painting of a woman's face without eyes.

Charu looked at the code, one more time as she tried hard to find out the hidden meaning behind the encrypted code. MV02FK09 was an Alphanumeric code that was giving her a nagging headache. She got up from her chair and decided to go to her neighborhood Cafe for a change of mood and to clear her head.

As she sat on the chair, sipping hot coffee and thinking about the map on the back of the photograph, she tried to sketch a mental route from the Hotel Abbey to the Villa marked as, "Home."

Suddenly, she was back to her present when a hand started waving in front of her. A familiar voice came to her ears, shaking her up, stirring old memories, and bringing back her childhood memories.

"Hey, Miss. Watson, remember?" Sheryl asked Charu.

"Hey, Miss. Sherlock, are you still solving the unsolved crime mysteries?" Charu asked.

"Yes, I am in fact I am on my way to solve another mystery. I need your help, this time. Will you help me?" Sheryl looked at Charu with a pleading voice.

Charu remembered how she broke up with her past boyfriend after being scolded by her father. She lied to her father that Dan is the boyfriend of Sheryl. 

After some time, she heard how Sheryl and Dan were together and Charu broke her friendship after breaking Dan's heart by lying.

After many years, Dan and Sheryl got together while Dan inherited an old villa and started living over there. Charu went there and looked from outside. MV02FK09 was engraved on the address plate. My Villa number two Fort Kochi number Nine. 

She shuddered with the thought as she recalled the face of Sheryl smiling at Dan who was serious and was preoccupied as if thinking about his past.

Charu felt a knot in her stomach, as she remembered that her grandmother told her once that a man never forgives his first betrayal in love as the woman never forgets her first love.

She wondered, who planted this book in the library so that she reads it and finds the photograph of the old villa. This book was passed in between other books in her set of books.

She went to see her grandmother, who was lying on her bed. She remembered all those moments when she experienced genuine love and affection from her grandmother. Her father Mr. Mani Oomen, a carpet exporter never had enough time to spend with his daughter.

Charu never had many happy memories of her childhood after her mother died when she was just twelve years old. She still remembered her mother's face as she tried to tell her something about, a dream of a happy home where there is no place for tears.

She tried to recall how her father never cried in front of her. Charu too forgot to cry as her tears dried up. People used to feel that she was a serious girl without any emotions or feelings. They used to appreciate her intelligence but used to criticize her for her lack of emotions.

Dan was a sensitive boy who used to respect Charu for her maturity and independence. Charu used to like him for his sensitive heart and kind nature.

Sheryl was her messenger in those days as she was responsible for giving and receiving the cute love messages between the two people in love.

Charu came back to the present and saw Sheryl coming towards her. She was looking sad. 

"Do you know Charu, Dan has been missing since the last six months after you left this town and I need your help in tracking him down," Sheryl told her.

"What happened, the last time I saw both of you, you seemed to be happy together," Charu said with a little difficulty as she spoke the last two words.

"You were also deceived, as you do not know that we never got married. He still loves you," Sheryl explained with a look of pain in her eyes.

Charu showed her the photograph along with the map. Sheryl gave a shriek after looking at it. She told Charu, how Dan used to tell her that he wanted to tell Charu something important about the villa which is a part of a secret map.

Both of them tried to figure out the secret yet could not reach any conclusion.

They both decided to visit the villa in search of the answers.

When they came to the villa, Charu realized that someone was watching both of them.

They both entered the villa, tiptoeing on the floor covered with old leaves, glass pieces and pages of journals. 

Suddenly, she felt something fell on her head. "What is this?" Charu shrieked in fear. It was a kitten, which accidentally landed on her head. 

Sheryl found an old diary on the staircase, which was left open as if someone was reading it, and left in a hurry after the girls entered the premises.

She showed it to Charu, who was looking at the page where Charu's sketch was drawn. 

She saw the words written underneath it, "Can you find me with your loving heart in this lifetime after you lost me forever with your lies ?"

Charu was in tears, her stomach was churning in pain, she was sweating and her heart skipped a beat or two. Sheryl helped her in sitting on the floor as she tried to console her. 

Charu was crying as if all the floodgates have opened in her eyes washing away the false picture of a strong girl as she felt how painful it was to hide her pain as if she was carrying hot lava inside the two active volcanoes like eyes.

She suddenly felt a touch on her shoulder. Dan was standing behind her. She got up and hugged him. Dan stroked her head as he said, "I love you Charu, will you marry me and help me in transforming this haunted villa into a home. This Villa was meant for the two people in love, and only you can end the sad history full of abandonment by saying yes to my love "

Charu nodded her head in yes as she found her true love, a loving home, and a true face without any mask of seriousness or fake exterior when she could freely express her love in smiles, pain in tears as she could finally live in the dream home just like the photograph inside the book.

This photograph was a blessing in disguise for her as Charu decided to start her own detective agency with Sheryl and Dan as she called her agency, "Creative Minds."