Lily is a curious ten-year-old girl. She is fond of solving the puzzles. Today, her aunt, Miss Jenny, visits the family. Lily’s mother, Megan, welcomes Jenny, and they converse. Suddenly, during the gossip, Jenny starts sobbing. Megan tries to console her. Megan also seems disappointed with the conversation. Lily is watching them from a distance. She doesn't understand the matter and decides to check with Megan later.
During supper that night, Lily asks Megan, “Mom, why was Aunt Jenny sad today? I noticed tears in her eyes”.
Megan replies, “Oh! Don’t you worry, Dear. It's no big deal. Aunt Jenny had borrowed some money from us a few days ago. Today, she was about to return the money, and unfortunately, a few bad people attacked her and took all the money. Thankfully, they didn't hurt her. But we needed that money this time. I am happy that Aunt Jenny is safe.”.
Lily finishes her dinner and goes to bed.
Lily is curious now. She wants to find those thieves. So, she decides to crack this case. The next day, she meets her best friend, Kevin, and explains the situation. Kevin tells her about a secret Angel living in the woods. The angel helps solve the problems with hints. However, she has limitations on the number of questions, so the questions must be right on the spot. Lily understands the location of Angel's house and starts walking towards it in the woods. After walking for a mile on the outskirts of the town, she finds a beautiful home right in the middle of a field. Trees and hills surround it. Lily is excited to enter the house. She has many questions waiting to be answered by Angel.
She opens the main door of the house. The door is unlocked. The living room is empty. There is no one in the house. But it looks clean and charming. There is a door to another room in the living room. Fearless, Lily enters the room through the door. It's a tiny room with an exit door at the other end. And in the room is a beautiful angel with a smile. She greets Lily, “Hello there. Welcome! I see the enthusiasm and curiosity in your eyes. You are allowed to ask six questions. But you can only ask one question at a time. Your question will be answered, and a hint will be provided. Once you have your answer, you are supposed to enter through this exit door. All your hints can be collected when you have answers to all the questions.”
Curious, Lily says, “Thank you, Angel. My aunt Jenny’s purse was stolen by a few bad people. I want to solve the case. I will start with my first question. Is the thief a man or a woman?”.
“Glad to answer you, Lily. It’s a woman, now here is your first hint. It will be safe with me. You can collect it on your way back”. Angel shows the exit door to Lily. Lily thanks Angel and enters through the door.
But surprisingly, the exit door takes her back to the same room she was before. She is puzzled. Again, the Angel stands before Lily in the middle of the room.
Angel greets Lily with a smile, “Hello there. Welcome again! You are allowed to ask five questions. May I know your next question?”.
Even amid confusion, Lily continues with her next question, “Thank you, Angel. Is this thief young or old?”.
“Glad to answer you, Lily. The thief is the same age as your Aunt Jenny. Now here is your second hint. It will be safe with me. You can collect it on your way back”. Angel shows the exit door to Lily. Lily thanks Angel, enters through the door, and returns to the same room again. By now, Lily has started understanding the concept. This magic room has some recursive behavior associated with it. She realizes that she should continue asking questions and collecting all the evidence.
Angel greets Lily with a smile, “Hello there. Welcome again! You are allowed to ask four questions. May I know your next question?”.
“Thank you, Angel. Is the thief caught by the police?”.
“Glad to answer you, Lily. No, the police are unaware of this situation. Here is your third hint. It will be safe with me. You can collect it on your way back”. Angel shows the exit door to Lily. Lily thanked Angel but was surprised that Aunt Jenny hadn't visited the police. She should have filed a complaint, at least. Now, she has more doubts about what happened there. Anyway, Lily enters through the exit door to return to the same room again.
Angel greets Lily with a smile, “Hello there. Welcome again! You are allowed to ask three questions. May I know your next question?”.
“Thank you, Angel. Does Aunt Jenny know the thief?”.
“Glad to answer you, Lily. Yes, Aunt Jenny knows the thief. Now, here is your fourth hint. It will be safe with me. You can collect it on your way back”. Angel shows the exit door to Lily. If Aunt Jenny knows the thief, then something is fishy here. Is there some kind of a plot? It's getting interesting now. Lily thanked Angel and entered through the door to return to the same room.
Angel greets Lily with a smile, “Hello there. Welcome again! You are allowed to ask two questions. May I know your next question?”.
“Thank you, Angel. How many thieves were there?”.
“Glad to answer you, Lily. None, now here is your fifth hint. It will be safe with me. You can collect it on your way back”. Angel shows the exit door to Lily.
What? Really? There wasn’t any thief? Then who robbed Aunt Jenny? Or Aunt Jenny is planning to escape from returning the money. Lily needs solid proof to accuse Aunt Jenny of her betrayal. Lily thanks Angel and enters through the door. Lily enters through the exit door to return to the same room again.
Angel greets Lily with a smile, “Hello there. Welcome again! You are allowed to ask the last question. Your question will be answered, and a hint will be provided. You can collect all the hints and return from the door you entered.”.
“Thank you, Angel. Is Aunt Jenny lying?”.
“Glad to answer you, Lily. Yes, Aunt Jenny is lying. Now, here is your last hint with others. Please collect these hints, and I am sure this will lead you to the answers you are looking for”. Angel shows the door to Lily through which she had entered. Lily thanks Angel, collects all the hints and enters through the other door. When she enters through the door, it takes her to an empty room with only one door to exit through. She repeats the steps until she finally arrives in the living room. She goes back home and places all the hints on the table.
The hints are six letters: O, N, I, A, S, C. At first, it doesn't make any sense to Lily. She realizes that it is another puzzle. She needs to find a word out there. She tries various permutations and combinations and finally finds the word. It is “CASINO”. She doesn't understand how this word is associated with Aunt Jenny. So she rushes to her mother and asks what the CASINO is. Megan explains that it's where people bet their money and try their luck to win more money. She says that Aunt Jenny visits the Casino a lot. Kind of; she is addicted to it. BINGO! That explains it. Lily tells Megan that Aunt Jenny spent the money in Casino and is lying about it. It makes sense to Megan, too. She praises Lily for her attempt and for finding out what exactly happened. Lily is filled with joy when solving the case.
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