The Decipherment

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  Isabelle Aimery was a very intelligent woman. From an early age, she had been fond of numbers and how they functioned. Math was her whole world. She always spent her time solving puzzles and doing word problems that were higher for her standard and age. She was the brains of her family. If someone asked the answer to some long division sum, Isabelle would be the first to answer it. Her father never had difficulty with bills or bank accounts. Isabelle would be the calculator for him.

  She used to wonder why most people found math hard when it could be so much fun. It wasn’t the solution she found interesting, but the process of solution that intrigued her most of all. The logic in following specific detailed and step-by-step methods for solving mathematical questions was what fascinated her. She never for once got fed up if she didn’t get some answer right or misunderstood something. The world of numbers beautified itself all the more to her.

  After her parents died, Isabelle’s sole comfort and companion had been math. Indulging her mind in numbers and formulae kept her at bay. Digging deeper and deeper had brought her into the realm of cryptology. As soon as she had spent more and more time discovering the subject, the more she started liking it. Finally she had made the decision of adopting it as her profession. And it had been a successful decision indeed.

  It had taken her on a journey where she had met interesting people, seen amazing wonders, experienced many wonderful things and learned so much intriguing things. She had made friends as well as enemies. There are always a few stings on the way along with some flowers. The smart thing is to walk safely and not get hurt by the stings. Besides, it is just another of life’s aspects that where there are a few who see us with loving eyes, there are also those who see us with shadows of hatred lurking around them.

  Isabelle had performed amazing things in her field of work. She had cracked open codes that had taken effort and many smart minds a long time to break. She had been in the company of great personalities in honor of her work. She had inspired many around her and had the pleasure of being one herself. She had found happiness, mostly in her work, but also among the company of others. Grief and loneliness had also been her companions, but not so much as to deprive her of other good things in life. She found herself living well enough and independently, hence marriage was out of the question. She valued her freedom. All in all, she had been successful in the walk of life.

  But just like many great souls that have walked this earth and still do, Isabelle Aimery had made a mistake; and in something very simple.