Pete and I were around eleven or twelve and we were in the market running around picking pockets. This was after I had taught him how. Each of us tried to get the most money we could as a competition. Pete was winning after stealing a lot from a poor elderly man so I wanted to out do him. I decided to try to go after a wealthy looking man. It seemed like it was going to be easy. I almost had a good amount of money out before he caught me.
Usually I was very sly about getting money but some how the man caught me. He grabbed my hand full of money when I tried to run. I couldn't get out of his grip no matter how hard I tried. Then he squeezed my wrist until I let go of the money. I was too stubborn to let go right away so the man grip got tighter until he was hurting me too much that I had to let go. As once as I did he loosened up.
By then I was scared out of my mind about what he was going to do to me. I still tried to wiggle free but he just held on. I figured I wasn't going to get out anytime soon so I stopped trying. The thought never crossed my mind then to try to force and fight my way out of his grip. Instead I stood there dumbly. I didn't know what to do after that. All my squirming and wiggling did nothing.
The man didn't look at me until I stopped struggling. He stared at me and I stared back. We kept it up a few good minutes before he finally spoke.
"What have we here, a pocket thief trying to steal my money? I don't know what to do with the little thief. Maybe cut off one of his figures?" He stopped for a second to watch me swallow hard. "Maybe I should tell everyone here that we have a thief in our mists."
"No please don't. I won't be able to get anything to eat then." I pleaded.
"You were going to leave me to starve why shouldn't I do the same to you?" He asked me.
"I promise I won't steal from you again. Please don't say anything."
"If I let you go you're just going to steal other people's money. Why should I let that happen? They might not be able to make enough money to get food for there families like me. So what should I do?" He paused for a moment. Sweat came down my forehead. "I know, you're going to give back your money to somebody else who needs it. That's your punishment."
"How will I eat then?" I asked dismay filling my voice.
"You should have thought of that before going around stealing from people."
True to his word the wealthy man made me give the money to strangers. He stood next to me as I handed out my only way to get food to eat. He made me divide the money evenly and give it out to multiple people. He wasn't satisfied until I gave out the last coin. It took several minutes. People thought it was a joke so they didn't take it. The worst part was when I had to give up the money to fellow street kids.
"Don't you feel better giving then taking?" He said after I was done. I lowered my head in response. If I said what I had wanted to I didn't think that I would get away with stealing. "I do. Every time I give I feel better." He said. "So here you go." He handed me enough money to pay for food. I stood there with my mouth wide open. The man was crazy. "You might want to close that before you catch any bugs." He warned.
I closed my mouth. "Why?"
"To teach you a lesson of course. If you're going to steel don't be greedy. And don't do it to struggling people. They need to eat too. If you really have too, take a small amount from them. I suggest you aim larger on the money scale. They won't miss it much." He explained almost smiling. "Plus they don't really think they will get robbed." He almost whispered the last part to me. He hid his mouth with his hand like it would make our conversation private.
"Why the money?" Suspiciously I asked.
"I told you, giving makes me feel good. You need it more than I so take it. Just listen to my advice and go get something to eat. Oh and here is some for your friend. Tell him he needs to practice more." The strange man left after that. I stood staring at his previously occupied spot.
Pete came up to me after staying his distance for a while. "Who was that and why did he give you that?" He pointed to my hand full of coins.
"I have no idea." I simply answered.
"I guess there are some decent people in this town." He said.
"Yeah I guess there are." I responded. Who was that guy?
YOU ARE READING
Life of a Street Kid ☑️
Adventure**book one** Keep to yourself. That was the first rule to surviving a life on the streets. Don't concern yourself with any one but yourself, mind your own business. If you want to survive you take care of yourself. You can't rely on anyone even if t...
