Chasing The Unexpected (Short Story)

It's the 4th of October. Lindy is staring at her calendar deeply. “It's been ten ​years since the tragedy struck. I can’t forget that painful memory when my life turned miserable. Especially when I was holding her within my arms and my tears were falling heavily like a waterfall.” Lindy was weeping until someone started knocking on the door. She tries to wipe her tears but unfortunately her boss enters and sees her. “Lindy” he said. “Today I will give you a day off because you’ve been working so hard this week, but please pass by Anna and give her the files.” She replied “Thanks.” Yet she knows that the main reason is not because she was working so hard this week, it’s because today was the day she witnessed her mother’s death and he feels sorry for her.

While driving home, Lindy starts to remember her past about her mother Kate. She recalls the day she turned sixteen, when her mother gave her a necklace that was carved with the words (My one and only). It had a shape of a heart, and it was quite old and vintage. It was the most valuable and precise thing she had because it was the last gift she received from her mother for her birthday. After her​ mom passed away, she always kept it with her to feel as if her mother is still alive and with her. She also believed that it can protect her from any harm.

Lindy was living with her mother and Cara –her aunt- in the same house; and they were all at home when the incident occurred. They were sitting in the garden altogether, it was a barbeque night. Her aunt felt tired after an exhausted day and decided to head upstairs to sleep. So Kate and her daughter decided to stay a bit longer. The mother asked Lindy to get blankets to keep them cozy for the night. When Lindy was back with the blankets, she witnessed the horrible scene of her life which she can never forget (her mother being gun-shot by a mysterious person wearing black). At that moment, Lindy dropped the blankets and rushed to her mother. Crying really hard, Lindy was totally shocked. She thought it might be her worst nightmare that she could wake up from. However, the mother’s last words were: “I love you my one and only.” The aunt came after she heard the gunshot. She started screaming and crying, repeating her sister’s name. Kate wasn’t just a mother; she was a mother, a father, a sister and a friend. Later on, the police arrived for investigation.

The detective in charge of the investigation, Detective Paul Clark, was apparently never able to find the killer and attributed her death to random violence. Lindy, though, believes that there was more to her mother's murder than a random killing, thinking that the investigating detectives ignored every other evidence that could lead them to her mother's murderer. After three months, Detective Paul officially closes it unsolved, which doesn’t sit well with her. So she decides to become a cop, by going to college and choosing her career job as a detective; studying Criminology and other majors that are related to investigations that can aid her in solving her mother’s case.

The sudden loss of her loved mom made her encounter many things including major depression, anxiety disorders, and phobias; though she was strong and brave. However, Lindy is now on a hunt for her mother's killer. And no matter what, she will continue searching even if it takes the rest of her life. She will stop at nothing to bring the killer to justice because she knows there's no way her mother's death was natural. In her mind there is only one suspect, her neighbor Michael Adams. Because she was so angry, she felt that she is going to get justice by herself. She went to his house, having an evil plan in her mind. She then saw him with his son. Lindy paused for a second and recalled herself with her mom. She looked at him carefully, feeling ashamed, and thinking that he can never kill someone. Her humanity was much stronger than anger, so she decides to stop her plan.

When Lindy first started working as a detective in the police department, she strived to uncover the identity of her mother’s murderer while struggling against the unbearable guilt of having been powerless to prevent her murder. On the other hand, she also wanted a position in the force where she could investigate her mother's death further. Through time she became a detective that actually looks for justice to help other people rather than herself. Plus, she was one of the most talented and known detectives in the district.

She finally reaches home now after a long drive thinking about her painful memory. She enters her mother’s room. Everything is the same since ten years, nothing had changed. She sits on her mother’s bed, thinking deeply. However, she noticed something new on the piece of drawing that is being hanged on the wall. A book! It’s being hidden behind the canvas. But unluckily there was a lock. Lindy noticed something else, the title of the book. ‘For my one and only’. She takes the necklace from her neck, discovering there is a small key inside. She then opens the lock and reads the book―but what she found isn’t what she was expecting. She worked to unearth the secrets buried in her mother’s death, and indeed she did, key evidence comes to light and a shocking revelation unfolds. And finally after a long journey of chasing, she found out who killed her mother.

“People turned out to be untrustworthy; the most individuals you thought were close to you, turned out that they are back stabbers…” Lindy said in the court. “My aunt turned out to be the killer! And I am going to get justice for my mother.” Cara interfered “And you’re mother is a killer too, she killed my one and only son I ever had.” “But that was an accident and you know it was. He accidently fell from the window by himself. My mom never pushed him as you said.” Lindy replied. The judge listened to the whole story, and Lindy won the case. But winning the case wasn’t as important as knowing who murdered her mom. And finally she had stopped chasing the unexpected …