“Hey get back here!” The man yells. Realizing I am in no shape to get away from him, much less fight him off, I drop his wallet, and dash down the alleyway to my left. Now I just have to hope he doesn’t realize the ten dollars missing.

When I get to the back of the alleyway I stop running to catch my breath. Looking over my shoulder I see only the usual crowds of people shopping the booths on Main Street. It’s market day. A perfect day for taking things that aren’t mine. Like money.

Sometimes I feel bad for what I do, but I just have to remind myself that if I wasn’t doing this, I’d be dead. Once my breathing had returned to a normal rate, I followed the buildings down the back of the alleyway. I had been this way many times before and I knew the layout like the back of my hand.

The first shop I passed was a clothing store. It was mainly visited by teen girls looking for the latest fashion trends. Next there was a bakery. I had always wondered why they had put those two next to eachother, they seemed an odd combination. But the smells that wafted out of the bakery doors made it impossible to argue. Sometimes if the day had been good I would treat myself to a muffin or cookie.

The next shop down the line was a bookstore. That one’s my favorite. I love reading, more than anything else.

As I silently walked down the dark road, I thought about what it would be like to live with one of the shop owners. I would want it to be the baker or the bookstore owner. Those were the most appealing to me. Of course none of them would ever consider adopting an orphan like me. Especially not one who ran away from the orphanage and stole from innocents. Oh well.

When I got to the final building in the line, a small ice cream shop that had closed a couple years ago, I readied myself for the crowd.

As I entered the square, light flooded over me. With the yells of booth owners, and conversations of passers-by it was almost overwhelming. But I’m used to it now.

I moved into the crowd and surveyed the shoppers for an easy target. There. A man stood by a pretzel stand with his young daughter. She looked to be about five and I guessed that the man was in his mid-thirties.

I approached cautiously. The man was talking to his daughter about how she had just eaten and couldn’t possibly be hungry when I bumped into him.

“Sorry sir.” I mumbled as I walked into the crowd, the weight of his wallet in my pocket. I had gotten good at this game. It was all about stealth. That and seeming innocent so that only a trained eye could tell you had done something.

When I got back to the alleyway I opened the wallet. Immediately a folded paper slipped out. I thought little of it, until I read what was written inside.

“Meet me at the clock tower at midnight.
I have a job you may be interested in.
Bring my wallet with you.”

My blood went cold and I felt the color drain from my face. How did he know? But more importantly, was the note meant for me? Or someone else? I was the one who had the wallet though. I read the letter over again, debating whether or not to take his invitation. What if it was a trap and I was sent to jail? What if he was a murderer and he was planning on killing me? I thought back to him and his daughter. He didnt look like someone who would ruin a kids life, but I’ve learned not to judge a book by its cover.

I’ve also learned that life is about taking chances, taking risks. If I hadn’t before, I wouldn’t be here today. And with that thought I made my decision. I would go.



That night at eleven fifty, I unlocked the clock tower door (lock picking was another thing I had become good at) and started up the seven sets of stairs. When I finally reached the top I saw that the man was already there, looking out one of the large windows next to the clock that announced the time in our city.

“I didn’t think you’d come” He said. His voice was lower than it had been earlier, and for a moment I wondered if I had made a mistake.

“Well, come out, I know you’re there” He said. Tentatively I stepped into the light.

“What’s the job?” I asked.

“Where’s my wallet?” He returned. I slowly walked over to him, just close enough to hand him his wallet and then backed away again.

“No need to be scared.” The man said with a laugh, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I didn’t answer.

“You are quite skilled at this, aren’t you?”

“Skilled at what?” I asked.

“Pick pocketing, stealing, breaking and entering?”

“…Yes”

“Good, good. I think you’ll like the job I have for you- if, of course, you decide to take it. You see, there is a man who has been stealing from my family for quite some time. He believes it goes unnoticed, but it does not. Fortunately for me my daughter seems to see everything.”

“So why do you need me?”

“Because. I need you to steal, from the stealer.”

I hope you guys enjoyed this story!