The Seventy-Year-Old Thief

The Seventy-Year-Old Thief

David Taylor was a thief for over forty years, but in the end, he was tired. As he walked and looked around the city he lived in, named Northborder, he pondered about his action. “The Brown Crust is around here,” he said to himself, “I wonder if Joseph is still making that pizza the way he used to.” “The pizzas he makes is better than most of the slop that pizza chains try to pass of as food,” continued David. As cars drove by, the noise comforted him as the sound reminded him of home. “It wasn’t that long ago that I hated the sound of cars,” said David to himself, “but now I find comfort in it due to the familiarity.” “This place is home,” continued David, “and I am happy to end my story here.” David Taylor suddenly opened the door of the Brown Crust and greeted Jospeh. “Hello, Jospeh,” greeted David. “Hello, David,” replied Jospeh, “it must’ve been years since you visited.” “I believe so,” responded David. “Can I get you anything,” replied Jospeh. “I would like one of your classic pizzas,” replied David, “and here is the cash.” “No need,” responded Joesph with a laugh, “here is one of the pizzas for an old friend." David felt embarrassed at the gift but decided to accept the gift to avoid embarrassing an old friend. “Thank you,” replied Daivd, “you are too kind.”

As David ate the pizza, he signaled to Jospeh that he needed to speak to him. Jospeh then approached him. “Joseph, can I have a word with you,” asked David. “Sure,” replied Joseph, “what do you need.” “Actually, I was hoping to speak to you in private,” replied David with an air of nervousness. “Sure, my office is this way,” responded Josph who also began to look nervous. As David walked to his friend’s office, the memories of his past actions began to flood him to the point where he almost panicked. David remembered that he robbed Jospeh’s store at least ten times and was wondering if Jospeh planned to either report him to the police or kill him. “Jospeh won’t kill me,” David said to himself, “he doesn’t have it in him.” As the two approached Jospeh’s office, Joseph’s nervousness began to subside and began to act friendlier to David, which surprised him as he interpreted this is possibly walking into a trap. “That is strange,” David said to him, “it could mean that I am in trouble. Daivd, however, decided to go with it, and calmly walked into he office.

After taking a seat, there was a moment of silence before Jospeh finally broke it. “You wanted to speak to me,” asked Jospeh. “Yes," replied David who was trying his bets to avoid sounding suspicious, “I wanted to talk to you about something.” “What is it,” replied Joseph, “you can talk to me.” “Well,” responded David nervously,” I did rob your store multiple times in the past few decades.” “I may have also taken money which in total could be worth about ten grand from your store,” continued David. David was shocked to see that Jospeh wasn’t even surprised by what he had told him. “I was fairly certain that you were stealing from me,” responded Joseph, “I just couldn’t prove it.” “What made you so confident, “asked David. “You came to my store a lot,” replied Joseph, “and while you were here, you often looked around, as if you were studying the layout of my store.” “In other words, you were certain that I was casing your store,” responded David. “I mean, you did it so frequently, I was almost certain that you were,” replied Jospeh, “how did you avoid getting caught if you were this sloppy.” “Well, I had a few close calls in the past,” responded Joseph, “like more than seven, and I am surprised to this day that I am not in prison.”

“Haha,” laughed Jospeh, “I actually thought you were the most likely to become a thief when we were younger.” “What do you mean,” asked David. “Remember when we were in college,” asked Jospeh. “I don’t really remember that far back,” admitted David. “I still remember that you stole the answer sheet from that one annoying professor,” replied Jospeh. “That wasn’t me,” replied David. “Look me in the eye and say that it wasn’t you,” challenged Jospeh. David tried to do it, but wasn’t able to do it confidently, which confirmed Joseph’s story. “Yes, I knew it was you,” replied Joseph, “you constantly complained about how hard his class was, and I was surprised that managed to complete it with impressive grades.” “I also remember that you didn’t seem to remember anything he taught,” continued Joseph. “Yea, I was surprised that I managed to get away with them,” admitted David, “that wasn’t the first time I stole to be honest.” “I really didn’t think that it was,” replied Joseph.

“Can I tell you something,” asked David. “What is it,” replied Joseph. “I think the first time I stole was when I was ten,” admitted David, “I stole a candy bar, because I couldn’t afford it.” “I saw another group of kids trying to do it, but they were caught,” continued David, “I then studied the store where they tried to take it from and learned about the schedules.” “I was able to get away with the stolen candy bar about two weeks later,” continued David, “and after that, I had stolen so much, that I am pretty sure that I forgot about almost every other time I did.” “I see,” responded Jospeh sympathetically. After a brief silence, David finally broke it. “Are you going to call the cops,” asked Daivd nervously. “I thought about it a lot,” admitted Joseph, “I had a feeling that it was you who was stealing from me.” “I knew that if I informed the cops about this, they would continually watch you,” continued Jospeh, “but ultimately, for whichever reason, I chose not to.” “You were my old friend,” continued Jospeh, “and maybe it was because I felt bad for you, but in the end, I decided that the right thing to do was to let it go.”

David felt a pang of remorse after hearing that. “If there is anything I can do to help you, I will,” replied David, “I can’t do what I use to, and I know that now is my time to make amends.” “You don’t need to,” responded Joseph, “I chose to believe that you needed the money more than I do.” “I heard that your grandchildren are in college,” replied David, “the least I can do is to help pay for their tuition.” “Well,” responded Joseph, “if you can, then I think that I will let you help if it will help your conscious.” “Yes, it would,” replied Daivd, “and I am sorry.” “It is fine,” replied Jospeh, “take care of yourself, and I think you should leave for a while.” “I agree,” responded David as he walked out of the store. As he did, the memories of his past misdeeds continued to return to him, only now, instead of fear or laughter, the response they caused was uncertainty, but David decided that it was better than feeling the stinging pain of regret.