Small Story 190.

Small Story 190 The Gem Mystery Shalini was completely upset. After three years, she had come to her parents' place in Mysore with a precious gift for her mother, Ambujam— a small diamond gem, no bigger than a sweet candy. She had shown it to her mother the previous day and had placed it on the shelf as a remembrance. But when her friend Mithra arrived today and went to show the gem, it was gone. She was shocked. Such a costly gem was meant to be a special gift for her mother’s 70th birthday. Mithra tried to calm her down. “Don’t worry, Shalini. Do you suspect anyone? The servants, maybe?” Ambujam nodded and said, “No, Mithra. All the servants are honest and have been working with us for over twenty years.” “I’ve already called my husband’s good friend OO1 to help solve this mystery. He will send someone over soon. Expect them any time now,” she added. Just ten minutes later, the smart and efficient Ranjitha arrived from the OO1 Academy. After asking Shalini when she had arrived and how many times she had shown the gem, Ambujam replied, “Only once, yesterday, with my husband Ram.” At that moment, someone called out, “Mummy!” Shalini suddenly realized, “Oh my god, I completely forgot! Dhruv is sleeping in the room!” She called out to him, “Dhruv, come here and say hello to aunty.” Dhruv, a cute three-year-old boy, walked in with a small box of his toy collection. He greeted Ranjitha and introduced himself, saying, “I’m Dhruv Shreyas.” After asking a few more questions and getting no further leads, Ranjitha finally asked, “Dhruv, can you show me your toy collection box?” “This is my toy box, aunty,” Dhruv replied, “But I have another small one in my room. I’ll go get it and show you how I collect my toys.” He ran off and returned with a small wooden box. He handed it to Ranjitha, who opened it and saw that inside, among the small toys, the bright diamond gem was shining. “Ah, I see,” Ranjitha said with a smile. “You placed the gem on the same table with your parents, and then you went inside. In the meantime, Dhruv must have picked it up and added it to his collection. Your gift to your mother is safe, and we should thank Dhruv for his passion for collecting!” Shalini and Mithra stood in stunned silence, amazed by Ranjitha's brilliant investigation. “I’ve heard of you before, but seeing your skills in person is amazing,” said Shalini, nodding in admiration. At that moment, Ram walked in and saw the group’s expressions. He smiled. “When my wife told me that she called Ranjitha, I was confident that this mystery would be solved by my good friend OO1’s talented assistant.” After a pleasant lunch, Ranjitha departed, giving a pat on Dhruv’s head as a thank you for his unintentional help K.Ragavan 20-3-25