The Cosmic Collaboration
It was happening again, three stars as a triangle next to the full moon.
Shreya looked at the sky. This was the fourth time she had noticed such an occurrence. She knew tomorrow would not be an ordinary day. She pushed herself to sleep by holding the neatly folded red saree to her bosom, the only memory of her mother left behind. Shreya's mother passed away when she was six months old. From then on, she was her dad's little princess. Her father would proudly say she inherited valour from her mother, and hence she chose the police job. She couldn't be at peace with her father's sudden demise, though it's been a year already. At thirty, she was all by herself.
The next morning, she left for work with a thousand questions popping into her mind, and a quick prayer to her father along with the usual question, 'Why did you leave me so soon, Papa?'.
"Good morning, Madam!", her subordinates saluted with respect. With a nod, she walked past them and reached her table with the name board, "SHREYA, Inspector of Police."
Sub-Inspector Malathi followed and briefed her about the current case. Shreya suspected the husband to be the preparator, though he was pleading innocent that he had nothing to do with his wife's suicide.
It was past midnight. Shreya was still awaiting the queer moment. She fell lightly asleep when a loud voice woke her.
"Madam! Dr. Vinay is on the line," Malathi came in hurriedly. She signalled her to put the phone on speaker.
"Yes, Vinay!"
"Shreya! We collected blood samples from the deceased elderly couple's entire household, but none matched the DNA found from the corpses. You were correct that it was an inside job. I attended a seminar on bone marrow transplantation where I read over some critical, yet successful, cases and the possibility of the blood group differing from the actual one."
He continued his findings. Shreya recollected the case details. Now she knew the next course of action.
Initially, when the star triangle incident occurred, a vital piece of evidence from a long pending case emerged suddenly and she was able to nab the culprit. The same happened twice and now for the fourth time.
Is there a connection between this strange phenomenon and her?
Her mind kept wavering.
On the bed lay silently her mother's saree, with a small photo tucked between the folds. It had little Shreya in her mother's arms with three black dots as a triangle on her chin.
Shreya sat on the balcony, reviving the times she spent with her father. He was healthy, with no medical issues. Then how did he succumb to a sudden cardiac arrest? Though shattered much, she involved herself and investigated all possibilities, which led to the only conclusion that it was a natural demise. Yet, a part of her still feels something mysterious.
It was happening again, three stars as a triangle next to the full moon.
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