Small Story 161.

Small Story 161 Passport Mystery Swapna was completely upset. After searching for more than an hour, she could not locate her passport. She had checked the locker and all other important places, but it was nowhere to be found. Her trip to Germany to visit her sister was scheduled for next week, and her leave from the office had just been sanctioned. By the time the bell rang, Swapna opened the door to see her friend Malini standing there. “Hey, how are you? Preparing for your journey?” Malini asked. “I’m upset,” Swapna replied. “I can’t remember where I kept my passport.” “You don’t remember?” Malini whispered, clearly concerned. “No, I don’t remember,” Swapna sighed. Just then, Swapna’s phone rang. It was Chander. “Hey, what happened? Did you find it?” he asked. “No, dear,” Swapna said, shaking her head. “Malini is here, I’ll call you later.” After hearing Swapna’s story, Malini said, “I attended my dad's friend’s son’s wedding in Jayanagar. It was a VIP marriage, and I met someone there — an international investigation officer, OO1, along with her assistant Ranjitha. They were leaving for Mysore at 3 p.m. Ranjitha is my classmate, and since she’s in Bengaluru, she might be able to help you find your passport.” Malini immediately called Ranjitha, who agreed to come to Swapna’s house. Exactly at 2 p.m., Ranjitha arrived. Swapna was impressed by her personality and her professional aura. She had heard about Ranjitha’s investigative skills through the media and from mutual friends. Ranjitha asked, “When did you last see your passport?” “Two days ago,” Swapna replied. “It was recently renewed for another ten years. I’m planning to travel to Germany next week with my husband.” “I’m sure the passport is in your usual place in the Godrej almirah,” Ranjitha said confidently. “You haven’t kept it in your safety locker.” “Passport renewal… it came day before yesterday,” Swapna whispered. Ranjitha asked, “When you received the passport, did you check everything? Your details?” “Yes, everything was fine,” Swapna confirmed. “Where’s your visa paper?” Ranjitha inquired. At the mention of the visa paper, Swapna suddenly remembered that the airline had called her the previous day and asked for her visa papers. “I gave it to them yesterday. One of the senior staff came and took it for verification.” “That’s it!” Ranjitha exclaimed. “You probably gave your passport along with the visa papers by mistake.” At that moment, Swapna’s phone rang again. It was Rodrigus from the airline. “Very sorry, Madam,” he said. “I took your passport by mistake for verification. Your name on the visa paper was ‘Ram Swapna.’ It should have been ‘Swapna Ram,’ which I believe is your father’s name. We needed to verify that. I’m on my way to return the passport to you.” Swapna was thrilled by how Ranjitha had quickly solved the mystery. After a cup of tea, Ranjitha left to join her chief, OO1. When Swapna received her passport from Rodrigus, she whispered to Malini, “Your friend is amazing!” Malini nodded, “That’s why she’s the assistant of the great OO1.” K.Ragavan 19-2-25