“The Thief”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.

Benjamin Franklin

I never meant to start stealing. It just kind of happened one day, when I saw how happy everyone looked with all of theirs and I had… well… none.

I think the first time I saw one was when I was ten years old. One of my schoolmates had one, and I just thought that it was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen.

Soon, everyone else had one. Or maybe I just noticed them more because I’d recently come to know that they existed. Either way, I couldn’t believe how unfortunate I was to not have even one of my very own.

Years passed, yet I still couldn’t afford one of my own. To make matters worse, my parents absolutely refused to let me have one.

So, I took matters into my own hands.

I was thirteen when I stole my first one. Sure, I wasn’t proud of it, but at least I had one of my very own!

Gradually, I stole more and more. I actually think that I have one of the biggest collections in the world now, a fact of which I am proud.

And now, even though I can afford to buy my own brand-new ones (which, don’t get me wrong, I do buy new ones sometimes), I’ve gotten into this habit of stealing and I just can’t stop.

So, here’s a fair warning: If you ever see me around, be sure to keep your wits and your coffee cups about you, because if you let me get too close, I’ll surely steal it.

Final Comments: No, I didn’t really know what the item was going to be until the end (which is why it might not make complete sense given the context of the rest of the story), but it’s the first thing that came to mind. Still, I enjoyed writing this one!

Overall Rating: 😏