It has all the elements of an Agatha Christie mystery. A small bucket filled to the brim with multi-coloured clothes pegs. A condo unit in a quiet neighbourhood. Two guilty-looking cats.
This is indeed a strange whodunit, one with no ending in sight. Yet. It has unsettled the household; the bucket owner loudly laments the absence of pegs to hold her laundry to dry.
Let's revisit the crime scene (if indeed a crime has been committed, that is); A bright red plastic bucket, along with its contents of plastic clothes pegs, for months comfortably hooked to the balcony railings, have disappeared into thin air.
[The owner begs forgiveness for the use of plastic; her level of eco-consciousness is appalling. But she promises to go rattan for bucket and wood for pegs in the near future].
One moment the RM3.90 bucket chockful of pegs (of various shapes, sizes and colours) was there on the 10th floor balcony, firmly anchored to an iron railing; the next moment it was gone without a trace.
It has been two days, and neither bucket nor pegs have surfaced. They seem to have vanished, wiped off the face of the earth.
Every nook and cranny of the condo floor space has been swept, peered into, meticulously searched. Nothing. The house help too has been thoroughly cross-examined. Still nyet.
Bibik, when did you see the bucket last? Where was it when you saw it? Ever notice any suspicious looking character sniffing around the comely red bucket?
Nggak ada, puan! Said she nervously, no doubt thinking of the pegless laundry waiting to 'fly (me) to the moon' or 'go(ne) with the winds' in the event of a strong breeze.
Attention was also closely paid to the guilty-looking felines; did they or did they not launch the bucket off the balcony? If they did, where did everything land?
As it were, there was no pawmark to lay the blame at their door for now, although the bucket owner certainly wouldn't put it past them to have a paw in the mysterious disappearance.
Nothing was ever found, on the ground below or anywhere in the vicinity. Whoever or whatever had carted off the bucket had left no trace whatsoever. It was a slick act.
In the meantime, life has to go on. Dirty clothes need to be washed and hung to dry (the household has yet to opt for a drier; the lady of the house prefers natural sunlight).
And so this morning a new bucket and some pegs (see above) were duly purchased at Jusco to replace the missing ones.
But the mystery still begs an answer; "Just where did the bucket and pegs go?"
This is indeed a strange whodunit, one with no ending in sight. Yet. It has unsettled the household; the bucket owner loudly laments the absence of pegs to hold her laundry to dry.
Let's revisit the crime scene (if indeed a crime has been committed, that is); A bright red plastic bucket, along with its contents of plastic clothes pegs, for months comfortably hooked to the balcony railings, have disappeared into thin air.
[The owner begs forgiveness for the use of plastic; her level of eco-consciousness is appalling. But she promises to go rattan for bucket and wood for pegs in the near future].
One moment the RM3.90 bucket chockful of pegs (of various shapes, sizes and colours) was there on the 10th floor balcony, firmly anchored to an iron railing; the next moment it was gone without a trace.
It has been two days, and neither bucket nor pegs have surfaced. They seem to have vanished, wiped off the face of the earth.
Every nook and cranny of the condo floor space has been swept, peered into, meticulously searched. Nothing. The house help too has been thoroughly cross-examined. Still nyet.
Bibik, when did you see the bucket last? Where was it when you saw it? Ever notice any suspicious looking character sniffing around the comely red bucket?
Nggak ada, puan! Said she nervously, no doubt thinking of the pegless laundry waiting to 'fly (me) to the moon' or 'go(ne) with the winds' in the event of a strong breeze.
Attention was also closely paid to the guilty-looking felines; did they or did they not launch the bucket off the balcony? If they did, where did everything land?
As it were, there was no pawmark to lay the blame at their door for now, although the bucket owner certainly wouldn't put it past them to have a paw in the mysterious disappearance.
Nothing was ever found, on the ground below or anywhere in the vicinity. Whoever or whatever had carted off the bucket had left no trace whatsoever. It was a slick act.
In the meantime, life has to go on. Dirty clothes need to be washed and hung to dry (the household has yet to opt for a drier; the lady of the house prefers natural sunlight).
And so this morning a new bucket and some pegs (see above) were duly purchased at Jusco to replace the missing ones.
But the mystery still begs an answer; "Just where did the bucket and pegs go?"
9 comments:
have U dusted for fingerprints? :)
Missy
Do you need P.I. Pi to investigate for you, ma'am?
Aunty Puteri,
The butler did it. Not my beloved Lillie or Jules, OK? purrr.....meow!
Dear Kak Kama,
I love this on so many levels.
Firstly, you mentioned one of my favourite quick read authors - Agatha Christie. I have a special shelf for her full of VERY old roman policiers.
Secondly, I love the mystery. My suggested scenarios:
a) A neighbour borrowed the whole barrel from Pak Abu. Pak Abu, in the euphoria after a hole in one - forgot all about it.
b) A neighbour borrowed it from you, Kak Kama. After a night of wonderful karaoke, you totally forgot about it.
c) The maid knew that the neighbour borrowed it but was amazed that neither of you can remember, so she decided to forget about it!
Thirdly - I just love the wit and tongue-in-cheek that went into this post.
Let us know if you ever solve this, ok?
Salam Kama
Dulu2 (80s) peg selalu hilang pasal DD pegged kat rambutnya -" I want to look like Madonna."
Hmm ...... those were the days.
'Not me!' meowed the cat.
'Not me!' barked the dog.
'Not me!' growled the bear.
So who took the peg basket from the balcony railings?
Haha - mysteries like this are so familiar in my house! Good luck Agatha!!
Puteri, i've got the same problem with socks in washing machine, always end up missing one. Lost in the mysterious dark hole of life...hehehe
princess,
have you asked your other kits, the clothes-laundering non-feline ones who don't live with you and certainly know the value of dem pegs?
p.s. once your little grey cells have figured out the mystery, don't forget to gather everyone and... well, i'm sure you know your agatha drill! ;D
Salam Kak Puteri,
Mine was the clothes hangers; the wire type, encased in plastic. The culprits - a family of crows. They decided to upgrade their home from straw to materials more prominent & permanent at par with technology.
After I disassembled their home (on top of the mango tree, 6M above ground); misfortune befell onto me as I descend and fall to the ground and straight into the drain sump.
Broke my left heel, need to be screwed it back tight and was with crutches for almost four months.
Curse of the crows? Nah...
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