Mother Earth | Nilanjana Kar

“Julie we need to get back to school right away! Get dressed immediately.” Mrs. Stevenson called over to her daughter in the washroom.

“But why Mom?”

“Ms. Maria Ann just called up. A teacher of your school has been found murdered and so the cops have requested to gather up all the students.”

“Wait! What?!?!” Julie snapped open the door, "MURDERED? In our school?" she cried out in utter shock and astonishment. She jumped into a dress in a minute still murmuring her disbelief to herself and within a few minutes both of them were rushing down towards Julie's school. Julie was first of the few kids to have assembled and they were being asked a few basic questions while they waited for the others to arrive before beginning the actual questioning session. Once most of them had arrived they were made to wait for some time while the teachers and the non-teaching staff were interrogated.

“Ma’am, why are the kids in school on a Sunday afternoon?” one of the policemen asked Ms. Maria Ann.

"Sir, today we were celebrating Earth Day. All of us teachers had instructed the kids to plant a few seeds a month ago and bring the sapling on this day to plant it in the school garden."

“I see. For how long were they present here?”

“For an hour or so not more.”

"Do you remember seeing anyone suspicious around?"

"No Sir. This is a school premise with proper security. No stranger can ever put their foot in without being noticed!”

“We have been talking to the security guard. He too is of the same opinion” the officer replied thoughtfully.

"Could you tell us how many kids had visited the washroom in that past hour?"

“Kids? You are doubting the kids, officer?”

"Yes, ma'am we certainly are! There is no reason for us not to since everyone is pretty sure that a stranger can never intrude without being caught. As for teachers, they were only five of you, and security guard, and one non-teaching staff. Amongst you, no one can access the students' washroom! Hence definitely the students are in a more vulnerable position and besides we let no one out of our suspicion until the case is solved!" the officer replied.

"I cannot for certain say but students were definitely accessing the washroom now and then for fetching water."

“Well, we’ll have to interrogate the kids again I guess.”

After about a maximum of fifteen minutes, Julie's turn arrived.

“Ms. Julie, do you happen to remember using the washroom at that hour?"

“No Sir.”

“Well, where did you fetch your water from for your plant?”

“Sir, I had used the water from my bottle!”

“Why so Miss when all others were using the washroom?”

"Because Sir from the garden ground my classroom is nearer than the washroom. Two to three other students belonging to the same class as Julie spoke up, “We all were doing the same too officer. The washroom is at the other end of the corridor so we were using our water.”

“I see. Were you alone?”

“No Sir-” Julie was cut short by Helen who then completed the answer

“Sir! I was with her. We both had to fetch water for our plants since our roses had dried up a little. Julie and I were going together when she told me to carry on because she decided to take her water bottle. I told her to wait for me so that we can return together!”

The officer turned towards Julie once again and asked with a raised eyebrow

“Are you sure Miss you have not for once visited the washroom?”

“No Sir!” Julie replied trying to remember, “I may have once or twice to refill my bottle but cannot affirm you with certainty.”

“Very well then. Thank you!” sighed the officer and proceeded to the others.

The teachers were then separately interrogated about the deceased. And after all the information collected, the painted picture was that Mr. Thompson was not a very amiable and favourable young man. Though never proven he was highly suspected of harassing the kids. And when the officer asked one of them

“Is he one of the class teachers?”

“Oh no Sir, he just insisted to be present along with us and we had no reason to resist him!”

A CASE OF DISQUIET IN TWIN PEAKS

Buy Now

“Any idea why he would persist?”

"Not with any surety Sir, but I think maybe he thought it to be his chance for trapping one of the kids since there were not a lot of people to get caught by!”

“So you mean to say he had no intention for the Earth Day celebrations?”

“I don’t think so Sir!” one answered

“Certainly not officer!” another replied.

“Which means there is a large possibility that he was murdered out of self-defence?”

“Yes, maybe.”

“But none of you heard any kind of commotion?”

“No Sir, how can we? We were mostly outside with the kids.”

"The manner in which his eyes have been pierced through I'm almost sure of one of the student's involvement. Just have to find out which one." One of the cops spoke to the other in a low voice.

All the students were instructed to bring the dress they had worn along with all the other kinds of stuff – water bottles, school bags, pencil boxes, etc. Everyone assembled along with their belongings by five in the evening. The procedure began. Most of their dress was wet from being soaked, some were still stained with dried mud and some were as if not touched after returning from school just like Julie’s rose-patterned dress. Each and every student was personally checked for the murder weapon or any kind of stain that might have stayed back. But nothing came out of anything. Houses were thoroughly checked for some kind of clue. But all in vain. And at last, all were let off for that day.

The next day teachers and students arrived for their usual classes with laughter and smiles. The atmosphere around was more of relief and cheerfulness other than sombre and intense which was more puzzling for the officers and posed a difficulty to their investigation. No one could be trusted, for everyone seems to be safeguarding the other.

That day after school Julie walked herself to a nearby dress store and bought herself a new dress and was heading back home. On the way, she found a poor man selling flowers

"Dear would you not like to take a few flowers?" he asked expectantly. She felt bad for the man and thought of buying. After a minute's calculation, she said

"Yes Sir. Just a few roses. They look so lovely and fresh!"

"Sure child. Certainly, they are!" the man replied happily and handed over a bouquet of vibrant roses. Julie happily continued her walk and in between made a stop at a stationery shop to pick a few things like pencils, fabric colours, etc., and lastly reached home.

"Look, Mom! What I have got for you," Julie said giving her mother the roses, "I found a poor old man selling flowers, he was old and tired so I thought of buying some! Aren't they just a beauty?"

"Yes dear they indeed are very pretty. I'm so glad Juliet that you helped that man!" her mother replied with a smile.

"I'll be in my room, Mom. I feel like painting so I got myself some new colours too." She said over her shoulder walking towards her room.

“Don’t forget your homework! You have school tomorrow!”

"Yes, Mom!" Julie replied before closing the door at her back.

She turned on the music system quite a bit too loud and began at her work. She pulled out the dress she had worn the other day from the pile of clothes and spread it out on the bed and took out the new dress she had just bought and spread it beside the former dress. Both the dresses were inch to inch to similar to each other except that the former had a beautiful red rose pattern whereas the latter was void of any such thing. She made an eye-to-eye comparison and pulled out one rose and the bottle of red colour from her bag. Murmuring inaudibly the lyrics of the song she dipped the tip of the rose into the red fabric colour and pasted it upon the new dress in a way as to similarising it with the patterns of the former dress. And after five minutes or so the latter could be in no manner differentiated from the first. She let the new dress to dry up while crumpled up the other one. Methodically she continued with her work. Next, she measured the new pencil she'd just bought with a half-used one from her school box and sharpened the new one to the length of the older one. She replaced the older one with the new one in her school box. And then she began her sketching with the older one and used it (rather wastefully) until it was on the verge of discard. And then before disposing the pencil waste she fished in her bag for something and then with a smile she spoke in her mind while flushing out the pencil waste

"Oh, I forgot I have already flushed out those stained pencil waste.”

Julie then soaked her older dress in a hot water tub before taking that rose and proceeding towards their backyard garden. She thoroughly washed the petals off the colour, tore them up, planted them there and sprinkled a little water on them, and lazily strolled back to her room.

In the meantime, the policemen were fed the information from the forensic department that traces of lead were found in the body of the deceased and hinted at the murder weapon being a pencil. They immediately rushed to the school and instructed the teachers to assemble the kids before school hours the next day.

"Do you have any photographs ma'am?" one of the officers asked Ms. Maria Ann

“Oh! Very many. We were supposed to feature it in our yearly school magazine.” Ms. Maria Ann replied, showing him the photos. There were various images of the students planting, watering, etc. but what caught the interest of the officer was one image in which Julie was clicked planting rose petals.

"Why has she torn the rose petals and planted them?"

"Oh, that. The very other day we were discussing how not only seeds but also other parts of plants can be regrown. Julie curious enough thought of trying it out so she planted a few petals to see whether it would work!” Ms. Maria Ann replied with a smile. The officer continued to scroll through the other images. There were a lot of group photos where Julie could be seen wearing that patterned dress. The officer heaved a sigh and continued with his search.

That evening Mrs. Stevenson passed across Ms. Maria Ann’s message to Julie during dinner. Julie showed a little annoyance but said nothing. Right after dinner she went and checked on the new dress which seems to have dried very well. And then lifted the previous dress from the tub and gradually the guise of the blood-printed rose pattern started to dissolve and stains of spluttered blood unveiled gradually

“Will need some more time before I can scrub the remnant stains and dry it for tomorrow!” she said to herself before soaking it back into a clean tub of hot water.

Nilanjana Kar

Guidelines for the competition : https://www.fanatixxpublication.com/write-o-mania-2023