Burglaries come in many forms these days. Here is one which was led by deceit.
A Burglary
Till the next time,
A Burglary
“Ahh
… ,” heaving a sigh of relief, Mrs Lee
slumped down in her sofa with a glass of ice-cold grape juice in her
hand. She had just finished doing the
housework and could finally take a break.
Just
then, the doorbell rang, almost startling Mrs Lee who was then sipping her
grape juice. Feeling slightly annoyed, she reluctantly stood up and dragged her feet
to the door. Mrs Lee opened the door by a fraction and saw an earnest looking
man standing at the doorstep.
“Good
afternoon Madam. I am from the Happy
Children Charity. Every month, we donate
thousands of dollars to the less fortunate children. When you donate fifty dollars, you would also
be entitled to a free ABC stainless steel frying pan. If you give me some of your precious time, I
can show you the frying pan,” chirped the smiling salesman. The salesman looked middle-aged and was clad
in a neatly pressed long-sleeved shirt and business pants. “He
looks harmless enough,” thought Mrs Lee as she let her guard down and invited
the man readily into her apartment.
Moments after closing the door behind her,
Mrs Lee froze in fear as she felt the cold blade of a knife against her neck. An icy
fear crept up her spine and her heart began to beat wildly. “One sound from you lady and you will regret
it,” the salesman hissed menacingly at
Mrs Lee, an evil glint in his eyes. Scared out of her wits, her face having
turned as white as a sheet, Mrs Lee could only nod meekly as the salesman
pushed her into a chair, bound her with a tough cord and gagged her with a
dirty smelly old sock.
Cackling wickedly, the rogue started
rummaging through the drawers in the living room and the bedrooms. A loud
yelp of utter delight was heard from Mrs Lee’s master bedroom. The
man was in cloud nine as he had just uncovered a diamond necklace, a
diamond ring, a gold Rolex watch and cash amounting to ten thousand
dollars! Sweeping the loot into the knapsack he was carrying, the robber emerged
from the master bedroom beaming, like a cat who had got its cream. Then, with
a smirk on his face and a sarcastic farewell wave, the robber stepped out of
the apartment, leaving the main door ajar.
A sense of loss swept over Mrs
Lee like a tidal wave as she looked on helplessly, tears running down her
cheeks.
Meanwhile,
at that fateful moment, Mr Tan, Mrs Lee’s neighbour, was returning home from
work. Seeing a suspicious looking man
leaving Mrs Lee’s apartment with a bulging knapsack slung on his shoulder, Mr
Tan hastened to peek into Mrs Lee’s apartment.
When he saw Mrs Lee tied up in
the living room, his jaw dropped and his heart palpitated wildly. Realising what had happened, Mr Tan, as brave as a lion, took to his
heels like an Olympic sprinter after the robber. No match for Mr Tan, who was a Taekwondo expert,
the robber struggled in vain and was pinned down. At that moment, the other neighbours had also heard
the commotion. One of her neighbours
helped to release Mrs Lee while the other assisted in calling the police.
Though
Mr Tan’s timely return had helped Mrs Lee recover all her valuables, she was badly traumatised by the terrible
ordeal. The nightmarish experience is still deeply etched at the back of her
mind today and remains a chip on her shoulder.
If you like reading this essay, you may like to read these other essays on burglaries as well ...
- A Knock on the Door in the Middle of the Night (Version 2) by Kooi Xiu Min
- Encounter with a Burglar (Version 1) by Elijah Wee
- Encounter with a Burglar (Version 2) by Lee Yee Xuan
- Encounter with a Burglar (Version 3) by Choi Minh
Till the next time,
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