Chapter 7: Thief
Chapter 7: Thief
For three seconds, we were merely looking into each other’s eyes. Those deep-set eyes were giving me an eerily familiar feeling. He was looking into me as if we’d me before.
In a few seconds, I could memorize his features already: his squared-shaped face, deep-set brown eyes, Roman-shaped nose, high cheekbones, distinct jawline, and thin lips. Judging from his appearance of laid-back sports shirt and jogging shorts, he could’ve just gone from the gym along with his companion.
His arms were also strong enough to hold me.
I couldn’t be wrong. It feels like the same arms that saved me from the fire a few years ago. It’s the same kind of warm feeling, as if he could protect me for a life time.
But could it be? Could it be him?
“How dare you toss a knife at my boss, you thief!” The companion who turned out to be the man’s assistant tugged the cowering thief’s collar.
Upon a closer look at the thief, he turned out to be an old man, probably older than my father with his furrowed brows and saggy cheeks.
His eyes were droopy and his nose was aquiline. He could pass as an aristocrat if he changed his clothes and exhibited some fine manners, but it was as if he hasn’t smiled for a long time.
The mall’s security personnel arrived and seized the thief. The arrival of the security personnel brought me back to my senses.
The people started cheering all around us.
“He has quick reflexes! He was able to evade the knife and caught it in between his fingers!”
“I’ve never seen it before! He is very lucky!
“It was just like in the movies!”
“He is even able to save the girl just in time before she slipped!”
“Ms.? Are you alright?” The man helped me to my feet. “Here’s your phone.”
He handed me my phone, and I received it gently. I looked up to him. “Thank you so much for stopping the thief and saving me from completely slipping. I could’ve hit my head.”
“Young Lady!” Runi rushed in.
“Please forgive me, Young Lady,” Runi says in mutters, “it’s my negligence to have not prevented that thief!”
I turned to Runi. “Runi! It’s alright! The thief wanted to steal, and he could’ve done so if it weren’t for you, sir.” I turned to the man once again.
He merely smiled. I really wanted to touch the edges of his face. I just wanted to know if he was my hero. Despite the odds, he could be the same person, and I wanted to believe that he could be the one. There was something in his eyes that told me that he could’ve known me.
Runi turned to the man and says, “Thank you for saving my Young Lady from completely slipping to the floor. You have saved her life.”
“You’re all welcome,” he replies, “If there’s anyone in need, I am sure to respond as my duty to Ransang.”
His assistant approached. “Truly, you could always count my boss here as one of your respondents in time of need.”
“Where can we find you, sir?” Runi interrupted. “We would like to reward you for your courage.”
Back in the Ransang countryside, citizens usually flock to my father’s office to receive rewards for courageous or honest acts such as for returning money or for catching a criminal. I don’t know if the Capital is following the same gesture. I guessed Runi doesn’t know either and assumed that since the President of Ransang bestows rewards for heroic deeds in the countryside, it would be the same in the Capital.
The man chuckled a little at us. “A reward? I am merely a citizen performing my duties to the state of Ransang. No need for a reward. You could always come to me if you need any help.”
He sounded like Marcial.
He then grabbed one of the unopened orange juice from his assistant. “May I?”
The assistant merely nodded, curious and surprised.
He handed me the orange juice. I couldn’t accept it, so I hesitated. “It’s for your assistant. He might be thirsty.”
We both turned to the assistant who was shaking his head to indicate that he isn’t that thirsty anymore. I received the drink with light hands.
I was about to ask him his name when Marcial’s guards arrived. The ones whom I’ve ran away from.
I closed my eyes hard. This would be embarrassing.
One of the guards announces, “Young Lady Natalia, please come with us. The General is already waiting to eat dinner with you.”
“So would we send this thief to jail? Miss, will you be pressing charges against this criminal?” One of the security staff of the mall asked.
I almost forgot about the thief. As I scrutinized him better, I realize how his eyes seemed too pitiful and too misunderstood. Maybe he just needed the money to feed himself or his family.
I speak with confidence, “This man might have attempted to take my phone, but I believe that he has only done so out of need. If he didn’t have any criminal record prior to this incident, I wouldn’t be pressing charges.”
The old thief broke free from the guards and then rushed to me. Marcial’s guards immediately surrounded me. “Please keep away from the Young Lady!” They chorused.
I blushed.
The old thief kneeled in front of me and then bowed to the floor, his forehead almost touching the ground. “Thank you for sparing me, Young Lady. Indeed, I have not committed any crime but I’ve only done such act just today as I have been too hungry.” His voice was even coarser than before. I could tell that he must be sincere.
Runi must have been taken aback because she nudged my arm.
The man who saved me was also surprised because my words seemed too kind. He says, “This man will victimize another person if we will set him free. Why would you let him go? He even threatened me with a knife!”
My mall savior has a point but then there’s no point for me in sending the old thief in prison too. “He is an old and frail man already, Mister. He wouldn’t survive a day in prison especially with its harsh conditions. He’s an old man. He only has a few years to live.”
One of the staff speaks, “We couldn’t just let him go, Young Lady.”
The crowd agrees as they chorus: “Yes! Yes! It would be letting off a criminal without justice!”
“We can ask the police to sanction this man instead and hold him in custody for him to reflect on his actions. He might also be required to pay for a fine,” my savior suggested.
It sounded fair to me, so I agreed by nodding. “That would be much more humane.”
The man asks me, “I would like to ask why you are reluctant to send a criminal to jail?”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. Arguments raced inside my head. I didn’t know how these thoughts just came out my mind, but I blurt out: “One must understand how to forge peace between enemies and between friends. I believe that justice is served not only through war or through violent means because it would only repeat the cycle. If there are other settlements that would consider the other party and if the settlement would be mutually beneficial for both parties then it must be pursued instead.”