Love, Life & Coffee

Finding the Thief

Written by MahekVij and me

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Mayank sat beside his desk, reading the new novel which was gifted by his friend recently. As his friend told, the book was a real-page turner; he lost himself in the book. Reading made a big time for him and at times, he enjoyed to pen down his thoughts too.

Diya sat near the balcony, her favorite corner of the house, observing the thick grey clouds casted all over the sky, eating chocolate in between. After a while, boredom occupied her, seeing the same gloomy weather. A police siren at a distance reminded her of the news she heard that evening.

"You know Mayank, there's a lot of burglary taking place nowadays in our city, especially near our area. We ought to be careful", Diya said, looking at the distant police patrol van.

Mayank was engrossed in his book, so he just gave a light nod to Diya.

With a slight worry on her face, she said, "Day before yesterday, there was a theft in Anya's house. Many valuables were stolen".

"Nice", Mayank replied in a voice which was barely audible.

"Nice? Are you even listening to me?", came Diya's voice, irritated.

"Yes Diya", he said, and continued reading, without looking up.

"Mayank, can't you stop reading for a minute? I'm talking to you about something serious".

"I just now starting reading Diya," said Mayank, in a loud tone, which was unintended. He hated it when anyone interrupted him while reading.

"A romance novel, huh? It's not even a crime novel", she said with a sarcastic smile.

He replied, "Diya, it really is interesting, please don't disturb me now".

"Fine, I'm going to bed. Do whatever pleases you", said Diya, and stormed into their bedroom, slamming the door hard.

After about an hour, Mayank went to their room and settled out beside her. He wanted to apologize, but to his disappointment, Diya was fast asleep. He couldn't help but admire how beautiful and innocent she looked while sleeping. To the gentle breeze from the window, a hair strand of her danced gracefully on her face. He always felt lucky to get her love, a beautiful woman with beautiful heart. He gently kissed her forehead. In the midst of looking at her, he too fell asleep.

A strange sound woke up Diya. She checked the clock. The minutes hand passed 10 minutes after 1. The sound was intermittent, as if someone was approaching them. It was more kinda footstep sound. She ignored that for a while, but the sounds became more frequent. Anya's words about the thefts struck her mind. She switched on the lights, looked around, but everything seemed to be in its place.

She didn't want to wake Mayank, as she was angry with him. She wanted to make sure of the things first. The sound sometimes was louder, sometimes was soft; it was almost impossible to find the exact location of sound.

She went to the window and watched the moonlight. She could hear dogs barking impatiently and not a single soul was to be seen in the street. Diya wondered from where the sound originated. Finally, she assured herself that it was an illusion.

The moment she switched the lights off, the windows began shuttering. Diya was terrified. She shook Mayank but he did not budge. Diya started hitting him, and then, he finally woke up.

"What happened Diya? Is it time for office already?", said Mayank, his eyes half closed. Diya nudged his face slightly and whispered, "Wake up Mayank! Something is wrong."

"What's going on? Why do you look so pale?", he asked with a concerned voice. He was wide awake now.

"Mayank, I heard a strange sound, more like that of footsteps. At the start, I ignored that, but the sound didn't stop", she stuttered.

"From where did..", Mayank was cut off when they both saw a shadow pass through their window.

The strange sound was heard again, this time louder. Diya was sure that it wasn't an illusion. Something was definitely wrong.

"Mayank, did you see the shadow? I bet it's a thief. Oh god, what should we do? Should we call the police? Or should we confront him? What if he has weapons?", Diya started to pose questions. She was clearly panicking.

The next second, another shadow seemed to move. Mayank and Diya slowly walked towards the window to unravel who that was. To their relief, he realized that it was the shadow of the vehicles passing in the street.

"Calm down Diya!", he said handing her a glass of water. "There's nothing to be afraid of. They were the shadow of vehicles. There's no thief." Mayank bursted out laughing.

Diya blurted a sarcastic sigh. "What about the noise then?", said Diya after finishing the glass.

"Let's chase it", said Mayank, and started to follow the sound carefully.

"It's coming from inside the cupboard", replied Mayank. "Diya, bring a stick from downstairs, the thief is probably hiding inside."

Diya immediately returned with a large stick and gave it to Mayank.

Diya stood behind him, holding his hand with a tight grip. He held the stick tightly and silently, they moved towards the cupboard step by step.

Mayank opened the cupboard suddenly, he saw Tuffy who looked at them with his innocent, cute face. "Bow-wow", he barked softly. He was damn happy to see them. 

Both of them burst into laughter by seeing the cute little thief.

"That's why romantic novels are better than crime novels", winked Mayank.

"Shut up", she said, approaching Mayank.