Who is she

WHO IS SHE?

It was about five in the morning and Thomas was peacefully sleeping on his couch, snoring. His little black kitten had also found a perfect spot for purring in it’s own dreams. It quietly lay on Thomas’s head, even though well aware of the fact that there were plenty of other places to sleep in that room.

TrRring!!

TrrRRiIiing!!!!

Thomas woke up hurriedly to pick up the call. The cat screeched as it fell on the carpet.

“Hello.” He heard the voice of a female say.

“Emma. Hi.”

“Didn’t think you would get a call, did you?”

“No. Not now. At least.” He yawned.

“C'mon. It’s not that late.”

“Early, you mean.”

“No, I meant what I said.”

He thought for a moment, was he wrong? Who cares, he thought, and returned to talk of business.

“Am I hired?” He asked.

“Not yet. You have to pass a test for that.”

Test? He wasn’t told about that. But then, investigators are not hired without a check. The heavy sleep which had troubled him suddenly flew away.

“What test?” He asked.

“You will get a message soon after this call ends.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a riddle, actually. Hope you like riddles.”

“Ahhh, no. No I don’t.” He chuckled.

“Great. Get to love them. You can ask people, libraries or do whatever else you want.”

“Okay.” He explained the situation to himself.

“You can use the internet. It does not trouble us. However, in order to join our association, you must solve it the way the real investigator did.”

“Real? You mean it’s a solved case I am supposed to re-perform?”

“Yep. This riddle was an important part of an old kidnapping case. The victim himself gave his location in this way. Aww man, I am not supposed to make it easy for you!”

“So, you want me to follow this guy’s steps. Am I supposed to use the same resources?”

“Guy?” Emma scoffed. “It’s just been two years to the case. And, to correct you, it was a she. She found the place in four days. You are lucky, Mr. Hudson says you can have a week. It’s Friday today, get it ready by next Friday night. Also, just do it however you wish to. We would just evaluate how you are able to perform interpretations, how quick you are to judge. We are watching you.”

“Alright. Anything else?”

“No, nothing. Solve the case. It’s actually a symbol that you have to search for. If you impress him, you both might end up sipping coffee together. Ahhh!! I told you too much. All the best. Bye.”

Before he could ask more, Emma left the call. Then came the message,

She wasn’t Esther,

The fair queen of the Persians,

She is the siren,

drifting in the emerald oceans.

He stared for a moment at the riddle that felt so absurd, then suddenly rushed to note down the points - A meeting place. A symbol, a sign, perhaps. Has it got something to do with kidnapping? Who knows? Should he get to work?

Of course not.

A few more hours of sleep first.

He got up again at nine in the morning. Placed the cat food in one bowl, water in the other, and walked out of the room.

“Sim! Here boy.” He looked at his cat, who sat lazily staring back at him, not even interested to make a move. Of course, these beings show love only when they are in mood. With a sigh, he walked back in and cuddled him.

* * *

Thomas cleaned the greasy counter with a cloth. He was lost in his thoughts about mythological sirens, or, the two tailed mermaids as everyone called them. He was so lost that he forgot to properly clean the counter tops, and all he did was hover his hand above the tiles.

“Get to work young man! Go check the soup on that stove. Call me when it comes to a boil.” A cook ordered.

He slowly walked over to the vessel and looked at it. He was an assistant in a small restaurant of the city. He looked at the soup, it was coming to a boil. That liquid. It reminded him of the ocean. What did the ocean symbolize?

Did it refer expanse, or someone’s supremacy? Ocean kills with it’s waves. It was a kidnapping case. Was it supposed to refer a murderess? It could have been a criminal named Esther, couldn’t it be? A lady who, perhaps had deceived everyone around her, that’s what the queen might have meant.

“Oh my goodness!!!” A voice woke up Thomas from his thoughts.

“What did you do? This is ruined!” He yelled.

Thomas tried to apologize, but the cook snatched the spoon from his hand and commanded him to be off.

Throughout the afternoon, he cleaned and washed, daring not to think about the riddle until he had finished his work.

Walking back home in the evening, he closely observed the objects around him. It was a place, but a symbol at the same time. Traffic lights? No, the junction is too crowded. A bus? Maybe, but was there a queenly bus service? Could be, worth a check.

The next day, he rushed to the public library.

“Esther! I wanna know about Esther. The queen of Persia.” He broke out.

The old librarian gave him a look of annoyance, but then simply asked him to follow him.

“Persian history? Egyptian? What time? Are you looking on some time lines?” She asked.

“I don’t know. Just hand me everything about Persia’s history.”

“Not too specific sonny. But it’s alright, I will let you have those around the era of queen Esther.”

For the next few hours, Thomas hid his face in the dusty books. He confused his already muddled up brain with the knowledge that appeared to be of no use. Esther, Jews, Xerxes I, and what not.

With a perplexed mind, he left for his home.

The next four days weren’t pleasant for him either. On Saturday, he got scolded for ruining the soup last day. The library was closed on Sunday. On Monday, he was just too busy to think about the riddle. On Tuesday, he was troubled by a little head ache. After it cleared, he went back on his research. This time, he studied all about the mythological creatures.

He scrolled down the websites and flipped through the pages, he did everything in his power to find out about Esther and creatures of water.

Thomas couldn’t think of anyone who could help him out. Of course, he had asked the librarian about sirens, but she just didn’t understand him.

How to pick up the right string?

Thomas sat looking outside the window, with his cat on his lap. He pulled his phone out to read the riddle again. She wasn’t Esther, is a siren. A lady who was thought to be Esther, or whatever symbol that was. But she is a siren.

Is?

That thing still exists?

It must be around him. It must have been around two years ago, something too common. A siren? Sirens lured ships to sites of ship wreck. They were wicked. A wicked fish? The fish market that sold piranhas and sharks, could that be the place?

He jumped up, and his cat fell from his lap. Thomas hurried outside.

He looked for something suspicious in the market. Of course, there were the blades and the knives. Most suspicious. He called Emma.

“How would I know I have got it?” He began.

“The symbol? Or the place?”

“Anything, how would I?”

“Just message me.”

“I am at Ivy block.”

“The fish market?”

“Yes.”

“Good try. But that’s not the place.” She replied.

“It’s alright, I will call you soon.”

The sudden excitement which ran over his face was gone. And then came those anxious wrinkles on his forehead, dark eyes that squinted in heavy thinking.

What could it have been? Exhausted, He looked at the message again. Emerald ocean, it said. What was emerald supposed to mean? He hadn’t thought of that before. He slipped the phone back in his pocket. He was stressed. A little coffee might do the trick.

Thomas took a taxi back to his place. He shrugged his shoulder, trying to forget the thing for a few moments. A drink at Starbucks is what he needed. He was simply lured to coffee.

Starbucks? Lured?

For the last time that day, Thomas made an effort for the search. He had searched about Esthers, he had searched about mermaids, this time, he searched for a someone who was thought to be Esther, but was a siren. It was time to connect the missing links.

All the tangled strings began to loosen themselves. The emerald ocean was that green logo everyone saw on the coffee cups. The siren in the logo was confused to be the Queen Esther by many, forcing the entire company to come out with an explanation. The strange mermaid, was to lure the coffee lovers from around the world. It all made sense!

Thomas rushed inside. His face brightened at the sudden realization. His eyes searched for him.

He saw an old man sitting on a table. Thomas waved.

“Hello Mr. Hudson. Is this where we were supposed to meet?” He began.

“Yep. Don’t worry. You are hired.”