It was a boring day. My Mother had hosted a reunion party for her old friends, some from college, a few even from high school. Yeah, a ‘party’ might sound fun but I did not know any of the people present, so it was automatically very frustrating trying to enjoy it.
On top of all that, none of Mother’s friends had brought their kids to the party for me to play with. Only Mrs. Lennox’s daughter was here - but she was still a fetus in her mother’s womb so it doesn’t really count, does it? The one thing I liked about this party was the food. I am a massive food lover, mind you. As I made my way towards the buffet, looking for a cupcake to eat, I heard a yell. The voice sounded familiar – I had definitely heard it somewhere, so I moved towards the place where it came from. It turned out to be Aunt Celestine’s. She was the only person I slightly knew at this party since she often visited my mother at Christmas. “What’s this commotion about, Mr.?” I asked a man I wasn’t very familiar with. He looked at me, flustered, and replied, “Oh, this? It seems as though Mrs. Underwood has lost her bracelet.” The party seemed very entertaining now, I mean, this was just a reunion party, how can someone steal something? I was intrigued to know who the thief was. I ran towards Aunt Celestine, she was crying out of her wits, but when she saw me, she stopped. “Aunt? What happened? I heard your scream from all over the buffet, is everything all right?” I asked. She whimpered, “Oh Theo, dear, was I that loud? I’m so sorry. I was not trying to disturb anyone. It’s just that your Uncle’s last ever gift to me, my bracelet, is lost. I apologize for making such a ruckus.” She said in between hiccups. I had already made up my mind that I had to find her bracelet, it was precious to her. I started looking around for any suspects, but I couldn’t find anyone. Except for one person. He looked a year or so older than me and was about 2 inches taller. He had charcoal black hair and witty blue eyes. While everyone looked startled, he was just standing there, unfazed by the commotion. Very suspicious.
I went to him and enquired, “Hello, Sir. May I know who you are?” He looked at me, still smiling, and responded, “Ah! Hello. Please drop the honorifics, you do not need to be so formal. Just call me Waylen.” “Okay… Waylen, can I know who you are?” I tried smiling at him and hoped it didn’t look too fake.
He answered, “I’m Mrs. Sophie’s son, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” “Is that so? I wasn’t aware that Aunt Sophie had a son.” I was puzzled.
“Well, now you know. Anyways, it seems that knowing my identity wasn’t your purpose for coming here, was it?” He retorted. Was I that obvious? “Uhm, no, certainly not. I was curious how you were so placid even after all the commotion.” I admitted. “I see. It’s because I’m genuinely surprised how no one noticed the culprit even when it was so evident.” He replied. You see, I was certain that this man was the thief, but his reply made me reconsider. If he was the one who stole the bracelet, he wouldn’t reveal his identity to a child. Or maybe he was confusing me, because I surely was perplexed. He must have seen my quizzical look, so he replied, “Theo, I’m sure you know who the culprit is, you’ve met him.”
That struck me like lightning. I started looking through my mind trying to remember everyone I’d met today. Mrs. Lennox, Aunt Celestine, my Mother, my Father, the man giving the food in the buffet, and… the man whom I had asked about the commotion. Of course! It must be him, he knew the item that was stolen, even though Aunt Celestine had made it clear that she wasn’t intending to tell anyone about her bracelet.
I turned towards the man, Waylen, to thank him, but he was not there. He had vanished. I would have tried looking for him, but first, I had to tell Aunt about the culprit.
It turned out I was right about him. The man was, in fact, the one who had stolen Aunt Celestine’s bracelet. She kept thanking me for finding him, but I was not the one who deserved the praise. Waylen was. But I did not know where he went, so I approached my Mother and asked her about Aunt Sophie’s son.
“Sophie’s son? She doesn’t have one, Theo. Sure, she is married, but she doesn’t have a son.” She told me and laughed.
If Waylen was not her son, who was he? And why had he helped me find out the culprit?