HARRISH’s Showcase

The Thief
My name is.. well what’s in a name, you are never going to get a chance to call me.
So let me move on to my 'profession', I am a thief. But a thief with a conscience. I
have never stolen from persons who value money. My victims are always the filthy
rich, who shop for the fun of shopping, who frequently eat in the richest restaurants
then visit doctors to reduce their cholesterol levels and such kind. You understand
what I mean, right.
Today I am trying something different for the first time. My near future victim
whom I have been following is a 'ticket checker' in the public transport
corporation. As far as I could see from my past two days of surveillance, he is well
respected(at least superficially as people didn't know his activities) and a well
known figure in this middle class locality. So this adds to my challenge. Because
these people have a tendency to vent their anger on someone who gets caught
while stealing. And if am unlucky the mob may even be of young thugs and there
is every chance for me to get lynched. So I have to be extra careful before I go on
my expedition tonight.
As the night came I was dressed in my usual which is a trade secret so don't ask me
what. I had already decided my way of entry. I climbed the wall from the back of
the house, and reached the second floor of this man’s house. Then through a door
which led into the house I went in. I was standing in front of the small bureau, the
only one I found in the house after 30 minutes. It was pitch dark. So far so good. I
didn't make any noise. I haven't woken up the man or his family.
I held a small pen torch between my teeth and opened the bureau using methods
which cannot be revealed. I searched for a considerable time. At last I found it. The
wrist watch. It looked expensive and attractive. No wonder this man took it. I put it
in a pouch and closed the bureau smoothly. Started to retrace my step in the dark.
As I closed the door and climbed the wall to reach the ground, I heard a sound.
Someone was coming that way. I turned to look who it was. But too late. It was a
watch man. He spotted me. He was young man not the usual 70+ oldies watch
man. I cursed my luck. He was agile enough and came running towards me with a
long bamboo stick. It looked menacing. I started to run. He was nearing me. I have
been in such situation many times before but it’s always tricky and exciting like it
was the first time. I ran as fast I could. I reached a wall, it was tall but I had no
other option but jump across it. The watch man was nearing me. I pushed my
weight with my hands and tried to jump over it. But I felt a sharp pain in my
ankles. He had hit me. I fell down. He pounced on me.
Hey I am a pro. So the moment I started to fall down, I got my hands on the packet
I had with me. I didn't want this to end badly for both. I had no intention of
upgrading myself to a killer or getting myself killed. So I always carried a packet
of chili powder with me for situations like these. So when I jumped the wall still
limping the man was lying swearing at me, his hands held to his eyes, squirming in
pain.
The next day I went to the boy's house. The rightful owner of this watch. I
remembered his face when I saw him last week at the bus stand. He had just got
down from a bus when my recent victim, the ticket checker asked the boy for his
ticket. The boy looked into his pockets then into his bag, but he couldn't find. The
checker accused him of not purchasing a ticket. But I could tell from the boys face
that he was not lying, he had really lost his ticket. The boy didn't even have enough
money to pay the fine. The checker came up with the idea of the boy
loaning his watch temporarily till he gets the money from his home which was
nearby. The boy trusting the checker, gave his watch as collateral and went to get
the money. I too trusted the man, but was surprised when he got on to a bus with
the boy's watch, which was definitely much more valuable than the fine money, the
moment the boy left to his house. Only then I decided to play the role of Robin
Hood.
It was a little difficult for me to find the boy's house, but I found it. First I thought
of giving the watch directly to the boy, but then I decided to take my new found
'Robin hood' role seriously. After all I am a good thief who had escaped the police
for a decade now. So I decided to snoop into the boy's house and place the watch
dramatically with a note from me saying, 'from a friend or Savior' something like
that.
By afternoon the street looked desolated enough. I went through the back door of
the house. I found myself in a kitchen. I didn't like the idea of leaving a watch in a
kitchen so I carefully moved around to find a living room. I didn't see any one in
the house. After sometime I found a room which looked like the room of the boy.
He was not there. I sneaked in and placed the watch on the table pushing aside the
books. I found a small piece of paper to write my dramatic note. But it didn't
happen. All I remembered was sharp pain in my head and my feet buckling.
When I woke up I was lying with my face facing the ground. The pain in my head
was excruciating. I was hit with something on my head. My hands were tied to my
back. I craned around to find what was happening. I found a cricket bat slanted in a
corner of the room then I saw a pair of black shoes, it was a police constable's.
Then I found another, it looked like the inspector's. The boy was standing near the
inspector addressing him 'father'. The inspector looked at me. I heard the constable
saying 'Sir, this is the notorious, 'my name'. He had stolen at many places in our
circle in the past decade but was never caught. Today he had dared to steal at your
house sir'