One Picture And One Story Week #80

To listen to this story, you will have to leave your work and come with me to the inner cabin of the restaurant near my house at nine in the night where my four thief friends and pickpockets gatherer every night. Yes, you have guessed it right. I am also a thief.

 
Leaving my room, I pass through the narrow lane and reach the street eatery close to my house. Some people are eating sitting outside but I pass through them, and reach the inner cabin of the eatery.

Source

I open the door of the cabin and went inside where some of my thief friends are sitting.

One of them says, "Buddy, tell us something new tonight."

I smile and said, "Listen! This is about the time when I had just joined this profession."

My eyes got lost in the past, "Once I entered a house with the intention of stealing. It was one o'clock in the night. The whole house was immersed in pitch darkness. I crossed the porch and reached the door.

"With a slight push, the door opened and I found myself inside the room. I could not see anything in the darkness. Before I could take out the torch from my pocket, the light of the room suddenly came on. A strong, six-foot man of forty-forty-five years was standing near the door. I was startled.

"Who are you? Have you come to steal?" He asked in a commanding voice.

I was new to this profession. I was unable to understand what to do.

"Sir, I have made a mistake. Let me go." came out of my mouth.

"Tell me the truth. Have you come to steal?" The man asked again in a harsh voice.

If you cut me, there will be no blood. When he could not think of anything else, he said, "Sir, I made a mistake. Please forgive me. Let me go."

But the man scolded me and said, "If you have come to steal, then steal and go."

Hearing this, I looked at him in surprise. Was he mad? But he did not look like one from his appearance.

"What are you saying, Sir? Don't joke with a poor man. Let me go." I said.

"You bastard! If you do not steal, I will beat you badly and catch you and hand you over to the police." He said, stressing each word.

I was standing in the middle of the room, shocked. My mind was not working. I was not able to understand what was happening.

"Let me go, Sir. Please forgive me." I tried once again.

"You are not able to understand what I am saying? You have come to steal, right? So steal whatever you like and go." The man stuck to his words.

Is he himself a thief? It is possible that this house does not belong to him-- a thought crossed my mind. But the authority with which he is asking me to steal here suggests that he is the owner of this house.

"What does it matter to me?" I thought. Since he is being so adamant, I should pick up something and leave from here. What if he changes his mind and calls the police?

"I looked around the room. There was a golden lighter on the table. I looked at the man. He acted as if he had no objection to the lighter being stolen. I quickly picked up the lighter and put it in my pocket. He moved away from the door and came to the middle of the room and I slid to the door. I still could not believe what was happening.

"I could not control myself after reaching the door and finally asked the man, "Sir, tell me one thing. If people catch a thief, they beat him up. They shout. They call the police. But you must be the first person who is asking a thief to steal from his own house. I did not understand this."

"Hearing this, the man became a little emotional. He said, "You don't know, for the last twenty years, I have bought every valuable thing in the house with my hard-earned money. Fridge, T.V., sofa, dining table.... What have I not done for this house, for my wife. But she keeps finding faults in everything I do the entire day and night.

But she keeps saying, "There is this defect in this thing. You have brought this inferior thing. You do not know how to buy things. You are not worth anything. You bring useless things. Even a thief will not steal such junk."

"As soon as I heard this, I understood everything. I smiled and leaving that man standing in the middle of the room, I slowly slipped out of the house. I kept laughing for a long time on the way."

One of my friends asked, "Then what happened?"

I took out a lighter from my pant pocket and kept it on the table.

He said, "Is this the same lighter, Mate?"

I smiled and nodded yes.

He picked up the lighter from the table and turned it upside down. Its golden colour had faded. I took out a cigarette from my pocket and lit it with the help of a lighter. The lighter was still working.

"Buddy, please tell us the address of that house. We will not just steal the lighter like you." One of them said laughing.

My eyes again got lost somewhere far away. Many shadows started floating in them.

"Boys, it is true that we all belong to the same community, but our business also has some ethics and principles. I cannot harm the man who treated me so well. No matter what you say, I will not tell his address to anyone." I said with a firm tone.

I could see a stunned expression on their faces.

@casv, @solperez and @silawana to participate in this contest by @suboohi