Big Day at Work.

Life was good. Everything was going on well. The business was going good. Money was pouring in. It always does in my business. An economic boost and a recession are terms that I have only heard of on the T.V while going through news channels. I just knew that the people were tight on money. I wasn’t even going through the news channels on purpose. I was just flipping through channels when I came across these terms. But who cared for such terms? My business was free of such ups and downs. That is an advantage of being a thief!

I won’t say I was the best. Little Nicky was known to be the best. But I think I was better than him. His size was always an advantage that he had. He was a little man. He could make it through windows which were left half open or any other such openings. I could not. What could I do? I was given this huge body by the almighty. It would have been very useful in the old times where there were no weapons and a man’s strength would be decided by the strength of his arms. But the situation now is different. You see trolls mastered by men who can be picked up by their hair.

Anyways, let me tell you about what happened to me. There was this house that I had to rob. The man living there was rich for sure. He had a nice car and I had never seen anybody else going in or coming out of his house. He was rich and alone, an ideal target for two kinds of people – a single girl and a thief. I obviously fall in the latter category. He did have many friends though. He would greet many people on his way to his parking and also at work. Yes I did follow him till there. I am a professional. I choose my targets very carefully. Again I can draw a comparison to a single girl stalking him. But she would be looking for any bad habits and other girls that the target is going out with. I, on the other hand, follow him just to know his schedule. But in the process I do end up finding his bad habits and his girlfriends too! But then I don’t care about them. I am a professional you see?

So I knew this person would not return home till ten on a Friday night. I had made the whole plan. His house was one of those row houses, royal enough for him to be called rich. All the houses in the row were alike. His lawn was properly maintained. It was very easy for me. Once it was dark, I would just walk to the main gate and then climb and jump on the other side on the lawn. Then I would run to the main door of the house. Now here is the catch. Here is the reason why I had chosen this house out of the row of similar looking houses. This man had just assumed that nobody was stalking him. And he used to keep his keys somewhere in the bushes besides his door. I had seen him do that secretly. And that is when I had decided that he was my man. Normally I can get through closed doors without keys. But that would make a little bit of noise. I had kept that as a backup plan.

Finally the day came. I had long awaited this day. My nose itched a lot since the morning. Going through my previous experience, it meant bad luck for me. The last time my nose itched, the house that I was robbing went all bong bong! There were alarms installed. I had managed a very close escape then. But then I am a professional. I didn’t believe in such blind beliefs. I went to my normal place from where I watched his house early morning, just to make sure he was leaving. And he did so. And he even hid the key in the bushes. He was looking more cheerful than ever though. And he was greeting more people than usual. I didn’t have time to notice this. Probably a big day at work. I kept telling myself these words. A big day at work. Not only for him, but for me too. I smiled, got up and left. I would come back later in the evening and clean his house, if you know what I mean! I was all ready and geared up. I dressed myself in casuals. Everything was well planned I believed. I took a suitcase and started walking towards the bus stop. I took a bus till a stop near his house. It was dark already. It was almost eight. I just needed fifteen minutes to clean his house. I hid myself in a shade of trees in the darkness. Only the moonlight was there. I opened the suitcase and took out my uniform. A black flexible outfit to cover the body and a mask to cover the face in case there were cameras. I changed very fast. In no time, I was on his lawn and running towards the main door with the jute racks that I had brought in the suitcase. I had left the suitcase in the cover of the trees.

While running, my nose started itching worse than ever. And that was the time when my heart spoke to me. It asked me to turn and that this could very well be my last chance. I didn’t listen. I was a professional. It was a big day. For him and me. For the hunter and the hunted. I kept on telling myself that till I finally reached the bushes. Without making any sound, I just moved my hand through it. And it hit something immediately. It was a wooden box. My estimate was very accurate. I opened the box slowly. And there it lay. Silver and shining in the moonlight, my pass to get through this main door, they key of the door! How foolish could the man get? I looked around. I saw nobody. It was very dark. Even if there was somebody, there was no way they could see me. I put the key into the keyhole and turned. My nose was scratching a lot. But I was too excited. Big day at work. On the other side of this door lay a treasure that would be mine forever. As usual, I opened the door very fast, sneaked inside and closed it as soon as I was inside. All this at lightning speed. It was dark inside too. But as soon as I turned, the lights went on and around a twenty people were standing there and all of them went like ‘Surpraaaaaaaaaise!’

I am ashamed of what I am about to say. I got scared for sure. Anybody would. But I was so shocked that my heart beat rate increased ten times and the only thing that came out of my mouth was ‘HOLY MOLY!’ I don’t know what that meant. In fact I don’t even remember my exact words. I just remember seeing the complex expressions of a few people. I also remember taking two steps near the sofa. But my heart beat had increased so much that I passed out! Me, the greatest thief, second only to Little Nicky, fainted in front of twenty people while doing my work on the biggest day of my life. I fainted! But the words kept on going on in my mind. Big day at work, for him and me. Big day at work, for him and me.

When I opened my eyes, I was here in jail as expected. Now they tell me that the jail doctor is going to diagnose me for my “illness”. My reputation is all ruined. Initially I was the thief who was the second best. Now I am the thief who fainted! I guess I am going to stay here for quite a long time now. I will keep writing about my incidents as a thief though. And other thieves’ stories too. There isn’t much to do around here. They do give me a pencil and a paper to write though. And food to eat too. Food that you might call disgusting. But I like the food here. It’s for free after all. And for the first time, I am eating something that I have earned! Not exactly earned. But you could say I didn’t steal this food. That is as good as earning. The doctor is here then. I should get myself checked then. And as for my tragic incident, I guess you already got the catch. It wasn’t a big day at his office for him. It was his birthday! See you again then. Bye.