A Sophisticated Thief

How foolish I was to have believed that young woman at the bus stop so stupidly? It was really a charming and delightful day.

 

An ungainly and poorly dressed woman was standing next to me. She was very young. As she began talking with me, I noticed the right-hand sleeve of her kameez was hanging loose. I couldn't understand anything and with enthusiasm, I asked about her hand. She told me that she did not have one arm and that she lost it a few years back in an accident. She also told me that she lost her father in that accident and her mother was suffering from a severe backbone fracture. She was the backbone of her family and had to work in others' houses for money.

It was really a heart-breaking and pathetic situation. Although she didn't ask me for anything, I got ready to lend her some money and gave her my address. She said that she needed money for her mother's treatment and said that she would borrow and arrange money for her mother's tumor operation in a couple of days. I was deeply moved and touched, so I gave her a five hundred rupee note from my purse. She really appreciated my generosity and told, "It's very kind of you."

A month passed and I had not seen her. In fact, I had almost forgotten about her. One day, when I was dining with my family in a restaurant, I saw that same woman come in with a boy out of a brand new Maruti car. The woman had both hands. She was also looking very happy and smart. I realized that I had been a fool to blindly believe the woman's concocted story. I watched her carefully until she and her child finished their meals.

When after paying the bill, she was going out, I approached her and asked: "How are you, Madam? What about your mother's tumor operation?"

She said, "My mother's tumor operation? What madness? Do I know you?No...not at all."

I regretted not having taken a photo of the lady the moment I gave my hard-earned five hundred rupees. Thinking to myself how she had made a fool of me, I reached into my car. I arrived home full of disappointment and resentment.