...

My sense of mystery and adventure was stirred at once. My recollection of what Pooja had told me, were interspersed with memories of the newspaper articles about the bizarre incident of Mr. Shah’s disappearance. Perhaps the billing clerk had reacted so due to his knowledge of the fact that this watch had once belonged to the Shah family. Pooja seemed to know him quite well. Were all these linked?
I forgot about the mystery until the next day.
------------X-------------
I enjoyed myself thoroughly at the birthday party and gave my friend the greatest pleasure by giving her the beautiful bracelet-cum-watch. But what happened as I was wrapping up the gift before the party is interesting.
The strange facts about the bracelet flew around in my head as I wrapped it carefully. While I was doing that, I knocked over the packet from the store and the can of soft drink fell down with a clattering sound, along with the bill which floated peacefully to the floor. As I picked them up with exasperation, my eyes were drawn to the bill. For, on the bill was a hastily scribbled message: “Park Bench, Ferns Park, 7:00 pm tomorrow”, it read.
The clerk! He must have written this baffling message. Was I supposed to go to the place myself? As I knew where the park was located and was feeling extremely bored at that moment, I decided to give it a try.

Being a paranoid individual by nature, I turned up extremely early and had to wait for about twenty minutes until the exact time. So, I decided to walk very slowly from the park entrance to the spot.
6:40 pm- Dreamt of solving the whole mystery behind Mr. Shah’s disappearance
6:45 pm- Remembered that the media had reported that Mr. Shah loved puzzles and brain games. What if the fortune had not disappeared but had been hidden by Mr. Shah himself to see who was worthy of it?? Anything was possible, the media stated, with such an eccentric man!
6:50 pm- Maybe he had been kidnapped and his fortune stolen?!
6:55 pm- Imprinted pattern of shoes so thoroughly by looking at them that I was sure I would definitely be able to recognize them if lost in a crowd of shoes. I spun a dreamy web of “maybes” and the more I thought of it, the quicker I assumed that this whole business was a link to finding Mr. Shah.
7:00 pm- At last!

Finding the actual spot didn’t take any time, for I knew there was only one (colossal) park bench in this particular park. The fiery sun was sinking behind the skyline as I walked, my shoes making a rhythmic “crunch” on the gravel of the park road. There was nothing and no one here yet. My disappointment was acute. I blamed my imaginative and impulsive nature for making a fool of me. After sticking around for another fifteen minutes, I decided to leave. I began to walk briskly towards the exit, angry with myself.
So absorbed was I, that I didn’t even notice a man walk past me. Inevitably, I crashed into him and was dismayed to see several items fall from the pockets of his dark jacket. Stammering an apology, I helped him pick them up as much as I could and handed them over to him. As I put my hand towards a package lying further away than the rest, I froze.
It was wrapped in newspaper and had a bill attached to it. I recognized the scrawl of the billing clerk’s immediately. My eyes grew as wide as saucers as I started to ask him “How did you…”