Inspector Regalia and the Case of the Wedding Gone Wrong – Episode 1: At the Beginning

Why couldn’t Regalia attend a wedding that did not include a crime? At least not the sort of crimes that would require his involvement.

What a buncha’ buffons. Distractions. All around. There was so much intrusion. So much that the normally unflappable Inspector contemplated for a moment whether he should just pull out his service revolver and at the very least, threaten to fire it. The chaos was coming from so many sources that he could barely hold a thought with the intention of developing it, before it evaporated. Scanning past a multitude of bodies, the movement of waiters carrying things and loads of screaming being performed by various guests, his eyes eventually arrived at Mrs. Pall, who was on the main table smack in the centre of the reception area, holding a silver fork, one of many carefully selected items for the wedding, against the throat of a youngish, spiky haired fellow who was pinned to the table, his face and shiny vest covered in dollops of the pink and white wedding reception cake.

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Orion

photo by sam-goodgame-437215-unsplash

There! Three distinct stars shining in their timeless row. The identical ones I had been seeing since I was a child. Having forgotten the names of most constellations as well as their individual stars, I can still pick out Orion’s Belt without hesitation wherever I am.

Rula was the one who had taught me about constellations. Orion was her absolute favorite: The Hunter with his Bow and Dogs. Late at night, I used to sit bundled up in the highlands beside her, peering into the universe through telescopes. What I loved most were the fantastic names every object had.

Quasars!

Dwarf Stars!

Nebulae!

Rula could enunciate each name accurately, explaining the meanings and history of a particular star, constellation or other heavenly body. I admired the beauty of the knowledge she possessed. She once said the immenseness of the cosmos was God’s way of reminding us of our true place in creation. She believed that the night sky was to give us perspective whenever our earthly cares overwhelmed us. She was right. Some of us take this merry-go-round called life too seriously. Others treat it much too lightly. All of us are guilty at one time or another of not maintaining a proper perspective and have to live with the consequences of that failure.

Bellatrix.

Betelgeuse.

Rigel.

Stars found only in Orion.

I remember Rula each time I see Orion in the night sky and can’t help thinking of what might have been.

 

photo from unsplash.com by Sam Goodgame