10 years ago, I made a mistake. I waited for my friend at the airport to pick me up when I felt a chill. I set down my bag and purse, pulled my coat out of my bag, and put it on. I zipped up my bag, picked it up, turned for my purse and it was gone. Looking back, perhaps the chill...it was a warning. I panicked--running around asking if anyone saw anything but nothing. Right after Christmas, my wallet with cards and money, my iPod that I used as an external hard drive, and much more that I can't remember--gone forever.
It was a burden to remedy that situation. I had to go to the DMV, set up fraud protection, and all my school projects were lost on that iPod. The police report never yielded any leads. I was mad at myself for being dumb enough to put my purse down, and I was mad that someone would do that to a stranger. A crime with no care about how it would affect the victim. I suppose that's a crime in itself: when it doesn't matter who's in the crossfire. Perhaps not thinking of the innocent faces is how they sleep soundly.
After about a month, I was able to move past the incident and upped my caution in all situations. I even wore a fanny pack to show my commitment. After 10 years, I lazed a bit on that vow.
Sunday was to be a good day. I was going to move to San Francisco and this was the final load of crap. After finishing my second to last load, I noticed two people standing near my car. I had my purse in the trunk. As I walked over I smiled and nodded at both of them. First, I suspected them of ill will, but I wanted to believe I was wrong and I overheard them saying they were going to the Pride Parade. My gut told me to be cautious but my heart told me to have faith in people. I don't know why in my head I decided to test my two reactions. I thought what's one more load up to the apartment--it'll be fine. I left my purse on the seat of my car and I finished my last load. I came back down a few minutes later and glass was everywhere and my purse was gone. I sealed my own fate with a careless chance.
My faith was partially restored with the kindness of the strangers that called 911 for me and walked me back to my apartment. I told the responder everything that was in the purse: $1300 I was going to deposit finally, my phone, my wallet with credit cards, ID, and dear pictures of family, my favorite lipstick, my favorite gum, assorted gift cards and frequent buyer cards, two sets of headphones because I always feared one would stop working, and my Majora's Mask 3DS and games. I'm mad about the valuables and money, of course, but I'm more mad that I let my family down and their generosity. My family's hard earned money deserved better than theft. I told the officer there were two suspicious people loitering around, but with no witnesses, what could be done.
I was advised to drive to the police station and with no phone I didn't know how to get there. I asked a couple people on the sidewalk for help and they guided me. With my bare hands I scraped the glass from my seat the best I could to sit down and not injure myself. With the parade going on around me, all I wanted to do was be a part of that happiness. With rainbows in the sky, I was exposed to the darkness of society. I suppose rainbows can't come without a little rain.
When I got to the station, I told the officer my story and she said it was common and that I should not have left my purse for even a second which I fully understand. We went down all the things I would have to do to rectify the situation and it was daunting. When my purse was stolen 10 years ago at the airport, luckily I had the support of my friend who picked me up. And then my family was nearby to aid as well. This time I was in a city that I don't know with no way of contacting anyone I do know. For the first time since I moved to this area, I was truly scared and truly sad. Uncertainty does that I suppose.
After excepting that fingerprinting wouldn't uncover any leads, I drove back to my old apartment and headed over to the landlord so I can use the phone. I started all the processes of canceling my cards and repairing my car. When I got online, my email had fraud alerts for almost $2000 worth of purchases at Bloomingdale's and Macy's. The cash, the phone, the 3DS wasn't enough, they wanted anything they could get away with.
Have I stolen before? Perhaps. I can't say I'm innocent of ever taking things that in my mind were small and inconsequential. Maybe that's the same logic they had. It's hard to try to reason with why bad things happen. You think: what did I do to deserve this?Was it the two people loitering around? Did they really look into my eyes acknowledge my smile and still say, "yes, we'll take advantage of her." Then you think this must be karma. This is an accumulation of all the bad that I've done and my penance.
10 years later--same crime, different city, different story. What can be learned from this? Don't leave your purse in your car. Don't test the morality of strangers. For that one person that committed the crime there were 10 times as many people that wanted to help me. I like to think there's a better world where people never hurt other people. However, it's written in our history for as long as we have existed. People kill, destroy, steal for their own selfish abandon. But people help, care, empathize with selfless will. There are two forces here. Maybe we can have rainbows without rain, but rain will fall no matter what.
10 years from now--I hope I'm not writing the next chapter of this robbery déjà vu. Instead I hope I'm enjoying my life and helping others enjoy it around me. Ultimately, with all the horrible crimes in our world, my family and friends are safe and healthy. I am thankful for that over all material possessions. What more could I want from this world than that peace?
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