The Skilled Pickpocketer

As I was walking up and down the market I noticed many people had items our family would never have. Such as diamond earrings and expensive jewelry. I also noticed that many people had other things in their pockets. I would know. I’ve pickpocketed them all. I guess living on the streets and pickpocketing since five years old has something to do with being good at it. Of course, my father was a great teacher. I’ve noticed that this man in particular was buying an awful lot. He had, what seemed like, a gold watch on his wrist. 

    It was so shiny I couldn’t help myself but to snatch it when the time was right. As he moved onto the next tent of items I kept following him. And I also noticed that this beautiful lady had a pair of shoes that had red and white on them. They looked unreal. I had to snatch that too. I kept walking with my bag with items in hand, still following the same man when he stopped in his tracks. I knew he was going to turn around so I turned the other way and walked away. I still had my eye on him though. He wasn’t going to trick me. 

    To be honest, I hate to steal. I would never do it if my family was rich. Of course for me life was harder than usual. My father had cancer and my mother was dead. So it was just me and my father and younger sister. My father taught me well enough not to get caught. Everyday for ten years since five I’ve never been caught. After a while of spending time at the market I’ve noticed the man was heading to an alley. I started to follow him when I heard sirens. I rushed to the alley. “Come to follow me, eh?” I looked up to see the man with a gun pointing it at me. I had no idea what to do. “U-uh. What?” I chuckled like it was no big deal. “Sir I wouldn’t want to do this if I were you.” I said serious this time. 

    “Oh I’m sure..” He said tilting his head down a little. “What’s in the bag?” He asked. I stayed quiet. There was nowhere to go. The cops were probably ready to arrest me for pickpocketing. It was either get shot or the cops. Neither I was ready for. He pointed the gun to my bag and shot a bullet straight through the strap of it knocking it to the ground. I screamed in fear. This man was no amatur. “Wh-what?” I said looking at him. He smiled. “Pickpocketer, eh?” He called me. I didn’t like when people called me that. Of course I didn’t say anything to that. I wasn’t sure what to say. He came closer to me. “Why do you do this?” He said still walking towards me, Gun in hand. “My family. We don’t have a lot of money..” I said quietly knowing that he would either kill me or tell the cops. “Sir please don’t-” I started to say till he cut me off. “I’m not going to.” He said plainly. I was stunned. Here he was pointing a gun at me and telling me he was going to help me? “What do you mean?” I said puzzled. “I was just like you when I was your age. Working and stealing to help.” He said smiling. He picked up my bag and handed it to me. “Take care miss.” He said walking towards the market out of the alley. I was shocked. I had no clue he would do something like that. I rushed back home only to see that my father and little sister were sitting on the couch. After telling him to my father we decided to watch the news to see who actually the cops caught. 

“A man with a gun has been spotted in an alleyway.” It started it off. “It was twenty-six year old male Danny Lean. He was also known as the serial killer of the town of Tillsonburg.” I was in complete shock. He was a serial killer and there he was being nice to someone who deserves no kindness for stealing. “After a little investigation the Killer wanted to say this to a woman he met.” The lady then showed the video of the same man I met talking. “Miss, If your out there still, I want you to look in the bag you had..” He said. I rushed over and turned the TV off. I opened the bag cautiously and found something so nice inside the bag. There was money everywhere including the items I had stolen. And a note that said. “Don’t worry, this should be enough for a while.. You don’t have to count it. It’s over a hundred thousand for you.” I was in shock. I started crying when my dad came over to see what was wrong. I hugged him and said. “See dad? We don’t ever have to steal again..”