It was that time of the year and preparations were in full swing. School holidays were declared for three full days as the fair was coming to town. There would be food stalls of warm buns, ice-cream, treacle puddings, cupcakes and a host of quenchers like fruit punches and ginger ale. The children as well as the adults were mighty pleased with the new mayor who had organized this event and made this into a mini festival.
The new mayor of Granburgh, Mr. Fernsby had a ruddy complexion with pleasant manners to match. He was instantly popular with the townsfolk as he mingled with everyone and made small talk. His sprawling two-storey mansion had an aisle of Calla Lilies bordering the lawn and was flanked on the side by a crystal clear pond. The house had just got a fresh coat of paint before the family moved in and hordes of furniture and luggage were being hauled in by the movers.
The town was bustling with people in anticipation for the 3-day fair and a vast ground had been rigged up with a giant Ferris wheel, a toy train ride, go-karting and a carousel with pegasus and unicorns. The mayor had gone through a lot of effort to bring joy into the hearts of people this Christmas.
Eddie Fernsby, thirteen and all ‘grown-up’ was having his usual gruff phase. He sat sulking on the couch and refused to move.
He hated leaving behind his former neighborhood and good friends and moving to this rustic vicinity.The clattering and bumping and dragging noises outside annoyed him to bits.
Mrs. Fernsby’s voice rang out through the vast house, “Watch out! Those contain my precious heirloom jewelry and gemstones.”
Eddie shook his head in frustration! When would these infernal noises come to an end! He saw an athletic looking young man tip his festive cap at her, mumbling an apology with a smirk. Eddie squinted his eyes at him when he walked back out and hesitated in the garden.
He stood puffing smoke for a while near the lilies, sprinkling hot ash on them carelessly. Eddie had an urge to give him a piece of his mind. When he stormed outside, the man was squatting by the garden bed, tamping down the mud with gardener's gloves on.
Oh! A gardener too!
Finally silence reigned supreme by sundown and they all gathered to have a quiet dinner brought in by the kind people of Granburgh.
***
As Eddie was about to turn the knob on his bedroom door, a vile screech rang out through the house again!
Mom! He rolled his eyes….just when he heard another chaotic shuffle in the hallway. “Call the police right away! My jewelry box is missing. The movers have stolen it, I'm sure of it.”
There is not a moment of peace in this melee of a house! Eddie walked back downstairs to see his mother raving and pacing about! The police came in shortly after but fingerprint dusting didn't help as this house was a walking ground for many handymen these past couple of days.
Mrs. Fernsby mourned the loss of her valuables all night. The next morning dawned bright bringing with it good cheer and it was the inaugural day of the fair.
She dressed up and with a sullen look walked down the streets with Eddie to the town square. As they strolled past a jovial, thronging crowd, Eddie spotted the mover with the festive cap running a trinket stall. A few stalks of lilies stood in a tall glass of water adorning the counter.
“Hullo, mister! Remember me? You were at my house yesterday.”
“Ah! Yes..yes…” He looked preoccupied.
“Those tulips look just like the ones we have in our garden.” Eddie eyed him closely but the stall owner refused to make eye contact.
“I would like to buy the tulip stalks”, Eddie said in all earnest but the stall owner, getting agitated, refused him saying it was not for sale.
Eddie, not one to be pushed away so easily, stood his ground firmly and in a voice that stunned people nearby, bellowed, “How dare you refuse to sell your wares? Do you know I'm the Mayor's son! I will have you thrown out of this hamlet!”
Mrs. Fernsby rushed towards them and in all embarrassment was about to apologize when Eddie held up his hand and confidently told her that her jewelry box would be found in the garden bed of Calla Lilies!
"And if we don't, we will trash him till he confesses." He pointed at the stall owner sternly.
And Eddie recounted the previous day's episode of how he had seen this man crouching near the flower bed. And that's not all! For a gardener, he didn't know the flowers were Calla Lilies and not Tulips!
By now all the burly men in the hamlet had rounded up and held the stall owner in a stronghold. He was marched to the mansion and sure enough, Mrs. Fernsby’s box containing the heirlooms were found in the freshly dug soil from where a few bulbs of lilies had been uprooted!
He had planned on hiding it temporarily and retrieving it when things had cooled down.
*****
Eddie was hailed as the new hero of the town and was treated to cupcakes, pretzels, ginger ale and joy rides on the Ferris wheel for safeguarding their neighborhood from a thief. He looked at them with a new set of eyes and there was a promise of a new beginning this first Christmas at Granburgh.
©️ Sangeetha Kamath
Pic Courtesy: Image by Beverly Buckley from Pixabay
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