1 The Special Day

It was a bright Monday morning and Alex was happy that he was excused from today's full day work as he worked overtime, the last day.

He would be reaching home early today. It was really a good feeling for Alex to dream of the time he would be spending with his wife Catherine, after a long time.

Catherine was such a charming and beautiful woman. She cared for him. She was with him, for almost 4 years now and Alex was satisfied with their relationship. She never complained to him for not attending her. She was a gem for him.

He packed his bag, switched off the air conditioner and left from the office, bidding goodbye to his colleagues. The traffic seemed to be a little less than he expected. He started walking to his home, it was just 2 minutes away.

On the way home, he cared to buy a rose for his beloved wife. He felt a bit shy, because it was not of his type to buy roses and do romance. He was more of a dedicated worker, who intends to make money for the sake of making money. But today was special, or at least he felt it was.

He reached home. He rang the bell after rehearsing the moment of taking his wife by surprise, for almost twenty times. It didn't open. Was she there? He knew she didn't have to work on Mondays. It was the same reason why he chose to work overtime on Sunday, so that he could leave early the next day. She may have gone out for doing some grocery. No, not on Monday, he thought. Grocery for Friday, he remembered. He rang the bell again.

No reply again. He turned around to see if someone's watching.

He tried the knob. Well, it turned and the door opened. Now, Alex was alarmed. He saw the penstand on the floor and confirmed a forced entry. He moved in and locked the door from inside. He could not hear a single sound. Total silence. He stood there, analyzing the room through his spectacles. He concluded that, whoever entered the house, must have gone into his room. He looked and, there it is.