The Mystery of the Missing Keys

Ok, this is complicated, so you need to hang on to every sentence, every word if you don't want to lose me. This was a very interesting episode that happened today, and hence I wanted to jot it down before even I forget the intricacies!

We have four house keys. Let us call it A, B, C and D: A is usually kept in the house or wife has it, B is with daughter, C with me in my office bag and D with mom (who stays in a different house close by, just in case we get locked out, we can always go to her to get back in). 

A -> Wife/House

B -> Daughter

C -> Me

D -> Mom

The tale began yesterday when I took key A in car and forgot it in the car itself while coming back. So, now A is in the car, not lost. Key B is usually with daughter but she has misplaced it. So at this point:

A -> Car

B -> Misplaced

C -> Me

D -> Mom

Today, wife planned to go out at 4 pm just when daughter is supposed to get back home from school. So, I gave my key C to wife and asked her to lock the house while she is going. Wife told daughter that in case she decides not to go, she will stand in the balcony at the time of her (daughter's) arrival so she can come home directly. If she (wife) does go out, there will not be anyone in the balcony which will be an indication for her (daughter) to go to my mom's house to collect the key D to enter our house. Since key A is still in the car, I took the car key with me so that I can get it on my way back from office after getting out of my office cab in the evening. So at this point:

A -> Car

B -> Misplaced

C -> Wife

D -> Mom

At 3 pm, wife decided to go but she forgot where she kept the key C which I had given to her in the morning! Since she had not gone out of the house, the key C was within the house itself yet she was unable to find it on time and it was getting late for her to leave. So she decided to get the key D from my mom, lock the house and leave. My mom decided to come to our house instead and stay until her granddaughter arrived from school, and my wife agreed, completely forgetting what she had told my daughter about the balcony plan. 

My wife called me up and informed me all this on her way to the event, and then I thought I will call my mom and ask her to go back to her home as my daughter will come to her house directly since no one will be in the balcony, as per the plan decided in the morning. But then, my mom had forgotten to get her mobile to my home, so I couldn't call her! So, we were now in a spot! The daughter will not see anyone in the balcony and hence will go to my mom's house only to find no one there because my mom is in my house! 

A -> Car

B -> Misplaced

C -> Misplaced

D -> Mom

I then called the school bus helper and was able to reach my daughter, and told her to go directly to our home. She said she would have done that anyways since she found her key B in her bag..! My mom, on her own intuition (without being told), stood in the balcony to guide daughter!

A -> Car

B -> Daughter

C -> Misplaced

D -> Mom

In the evening, I got back home from cab and walked past the car but forgot to get the key A from car! Once in the house, I saw both keys A and C on the sofa! Apparently my mom had taken the car in the morning and found the key A lying in the car, and she returned it back to our home. And daughter found the key C on the living room carpet where my wife had kept and forgotten. So, we got back all keys!

A -> House

B -> Daughter

C -> Me

D -> Mom

So many episodes of forgetfulness:

- I forgot to get the key from the car the previous day.

- Daughter had forgotten where she had kept her keys.

- Wife forgot where she kept the key in the house.

- Mom forgot to take the phone with her to my home.

- I forgot to get the house key from car even today even though I had taken the car key just for that purpose.

- The 'balcony plan' slipped out of wife's mind when mom offered to stay in our house.

On hindsight:

- There was no need for me to take the car keys.

- There was no need for the 'Balcony plan'.

- There was no need for me to call school bus helper.

- There was no need for my mom to stand in the balcony.

Well, anyway - All's well that ends well! The intricate happenings sure brought mirth today, and a blog post from me after a long time!