8:00 am
"HO..HO..HO MERRY CHRISTMAS. "
I almost spilled my cup of coffee and the bag of Bragels as the santa infront of the coffee shop shouted at me .
At last Christmas is here. After a longtime I have a dayoff from work. Finally I can spend sometime with Anna. The houses by road looks beautiful being decorated with the Christmas decorations. We have built a snowman in front of our house. It just need to be decorated a bit to give its finishing touches . As I was thinking about the decorations I stumbled upon the gift box kept in my front door. I looked around but nobody was there . I went inside with the box. There was no name written on it. At first I was a bit hasitant to open the box . As a cop I have many enemies so I am always alerted . After carefully examining the box I opened it and found a letter Inside.
"Dear Jhon,
Let's not worry about who I am for now. I have your Little one with me. Come and find me before it strikes midnight if you wanna see her again . Inside you will find your first clue. Better hurry the clock is ticking.
( Btw dont inform police if you want your kids safety) . "
"Anna!!!"
I ran like a Madman looking for Anna but she was no where to be seen. What kind of a sick play is this!! No...no this can't be happening I dont wanna lose Anna too. No, this isnt the time to lose my cool. No matter who this guy is if I want to save Anna I need to play along his game.
Inside there was a French 1990 vintage doll . Wait, this doll where have I seen it? Oh my god this is the doll Ana wanted badly for this Christmas but I refused as it was crazy expensive.
I rushed to the shop where it was on sale.
10:30 am
Shop helper , "Sir how may I help
you."
(Taking out Anna's photo) "Have you seen this girl here, her name is Anna Franksteine."
Shop helper , "Well no_wait did you say Anna Franksteine?"
"Yes did you see her?"
Shop helper " Well no but a man in his 40s came by. He gave me hundred bucks and said if someone came looking for Anna Franksteine then to hand him this letter. "
"By any chance did you see his face?"
Shop helper "Well no he was wearing big sunglasses and his face was covered with beared."
"Christmas or not this place is always
Filled with the laughter of children.
Oh boy how I love sitting in the top of the city higher than everyone and remember my lucky number is seven."
Filled with laughter...sitting at the top of the city...lucky no. 7...
Its the Ferris wheel in the Amusement park!
12:00 pm
I rushed into the amusement park. Buying a ticket I went in cart no. 7 of Ferris Wheel. Under a seat I found a packet of long Hair stands. These hairstands, most probably the hair from horse's ponytail. Such hair is used in making of violin strings. The next stop must be the musical instrument shop near Anna's school...
4:30 pm
What!
The shop is closed for holidays. I looked around but saw nothing unusually. Suddenly I saw some fimiliar words on a poster on the shop's Wall.
"Grab em
It Em"
Where have I seen this. I close my eyes to recall. Where...where..where?
I suddenly recall. This was written inside the diner where I and Anna ate frequently.
8:30 pm
Waiter "Yes sir he left this letter for you."
"Its a thing that helps you bond with your daughter. Its Cold hearted inside-out but holds a warm place in your little one's heart. She recalls it as her most precious memory with you two."
Our memory? What the hell does this guy know about Marie. No, now is not the time to grieve over old pains. I must find Anna before midnight. Ok Ana's precious memory. Her birthday? No I wasnt often home on that day for work. Cold hearted from inside-out. Wait... cold...mmm it must be related to Christmas and snow....snow...
THE SNOWMAN!!
It was only thing we ever built together every year in our front lawn. After building the snowman me, Anna and Marie used to sit by fireplace enjoying freshly baked cookies.
I rushed home and tore down the snowman. Inside was a address written.
"221B Abandoned warehouse. "
12:02
I reached the old warehouse but Anna was nowhere to be seen. I am late. Does this mean I won't see my precious girl ever again? I sat on my knees and covered my face as I felt the last bit of hope within me fade away.
Anna "Daddy why are you sitting here like this. If you stay like this for long you will catch a cold."
I lifted my face and to my surprise Anna was standing infront of me. I quickly grabbed her and embraced her as tightly as I could.
"Thank lord youre safe. Do you know how worried I was. Where were you?"
"Daddy why were you worried I was with your friend, the beared uncle."
"The beared uncle?"
"Yes he was tons of fun. We went to the amusement park, he even bought me a violin and he even promised to get me a French doll I wanted for Christmas. Btw he asked me to give you this letter. "
"Hello my friend,
I hope you enjoyed our little game today. This was just a little christmas present from me. Next meeting shall be more interesting than this . Till then
MERRY CHRISTMAS.."
