Christmas Roleplay.

 

Can you guess who our Christmas detective is? 

The air was heavy with heat in the Mumbai apartment, and the plastic Christmas tree was shaking under the ceiling fan.
Inspector Sameer Dixit gazed at the dead body of Mr Khanna. The elderly man was leaning against his armchair, with a half-eaten plum cake beside him and a red ribbon tightly wrapped around his neck.
“Check the security footage,” Sameer muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"The cameras are off now, sir," Constable Tyagi answered. 
"Power outage. Nothing new for this society."

His eyes swept around the room. Three of them stood by the balcony, their masks of white illuminated by the flickering light of the fairy lights: Rohan, the rebellious son; Anjali, the young housekeeper; and Mr Gupta, their next-door neighbour, who had found the body.

The Questioning :

Sameer: Mr Khanna was a very methodical person. Who was the one to bring the cake?

Anjali: "I did, Sahib. At 11 PM. He asked me to return early to mark the festive occasion. He said he was feeling all right then."

Rohan: "I just arrived ten minutes ago. I wanted to come here to say sorry for the fight we had last week. I heard Gupta yelling in the hallway."

“Just to wish him Merry Christmas. The door was slightly ajar. I saw him like that. It is a tragedy, Inspector.”

Sameer walked towards the tree. Something was caught in the plastic pine needles. It was a gold earring. He picked it up with a handkerchief.

Sameer: “Anjali, is this yours?”

Anjali: I lost it days ago, Sir. I told Mr Khanna.

Sameer: "Interesting. Because it is sitting atop a newly laid layer of tinsel. Tinsel that got put up after 11:00 PM."

Sameer looked at Rohan and then suddenly grabbed Gupta, hanging onto the wrist of their neighbour. Deep scratches from fingernails were apparent just below Gupta's shirt cuff.

Sameer: "The cake was not poisoned, Gupta. However, the ribbon was yours. I saw the same spool in the trash can in the hallway."

Gupta: "That proves nothing. Everybody has red ribbon this time of year."

Sameer: "Of course. But he was also a tailor, for starters. At eighty, he had an iron fist. He did not fight you; he took a souvenir."

He motioned to Gupta's pocket. This was

Sameer: "The old man is missing his gold ring on his finger. Let me tell you, it is probably in your pocket as we speak. "The Christmas spirit, that is what you thought you had used as the perfect alibi for theft."

Gupta's face dissolved. He reached for the door, but before him stood Tyagi, the handcuffs rattling as they opened.

Sameer: "In India, Gupta, we have a saying, ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, the guest is God. You were a very bad guest."

Sameer noticed the forlorn plastic tree and sighed.

Can you guess who our snow queen is? 

A Christmas Thaw 

My kingdom is built of eternal ice and deep silence. I am the Snow Queen. Usually, I remain distant from the warm, busy world of people. But tonight is Christmas Eve, and the golden lights from the village below call out to me. I float down toward a small, snow-covered cottage.

Inside, a little girl named Elara is crying near the fireplace. Her grandfather is very late, lost somewhere in my heavy, swirling snow. Her pure sadness touches my frozen heart. I decided I must help them. I fly swiftly into the dark forest and find the old man. He is shivering badly, stuck deep in a snowdrift. He looks up at my pale face with great fear.

I do not bring him any more cold. Instead, I remove my shimmering white cloak and gently wrap it around his shaking shoulders. My ancient magic changes at that moment. The cloak does not freeze him; it miraculously traps his heat, keeping him safe. The storm suddenly clears. He stands up, surprised and warm. He walks quickly home to a waiting Elara. From their window, they see me leaving. They wave gratefully. For the first time, I feel a spark of true warmth inside my own chest.

Guess these characters, and let's make it fun.