MYSTERY SOLVED BY CHILDHOOD IMAGINATION AND LUCK!, When I was 12, my aunt’s friend, Mrs. D, came over one afternoon, asking for my help with a strange problem. She had recently lost a pair of expensive gold bangles and was convinced someone had stolen them. Being a huge fan of mystery books like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, I was thrilled at the idea of solving a real-life case. The next day, Mrs. D took me to a small town in the U.S., where she told me we’d meet someone with “special powers” who could help me figure out who took the bangles. We went to see this….
When I was 12, my aunt’s friend, Mrs. Davis, came over one afternoon, asking for my help with a strange problem. She had recently lost a pair of expensive gold bangles and was convinced someone had stolen them. Being a huge fan of mystery books like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, I was thrilled at the idea of solving a real-life case. The next day, Mrs. Davis took me to a small town in the U.S., where she told me we’d meet someone with “special powers” who could help me figure out who took the bangles.
We went to see this man who claimed he could help me see the thief through a cup of black eyeliner, or kajal. Apparently, only kids under 15 could “see” the thief, so it was up to me. Even though I was super skeptical, I went along with it. The man handed me the cup and asked what color I saw. I, of course, said “black.” He told me this meant the theft happened at night. Knowing I didn’t see anything, I decided to make up a story, describing a masked stranger who had stolen the bangles and sold them in another city. I even invented the name of the store where they were supposedly sold.
Three days later, Mrs. Davis came back, beyond excited. She told me she had gone to that city, found the store, and actually recovered her bangles! I couldn’t believe it. How could the story I completely made up turn out to be real? Mrs. Davis thanked me over and over, giving me gifts for helping her out. To this day, I still can’t explain how it all worked out, but it’s a story I’ll never forget.
