That evening, Chora exited the house, fuming to such an extent that he would soon burst if no efforts were made to cool his psyche. The steamy conversation between him and his elders that ended moments ago formed a catalyst to ignite this long-overdue fire in him. Since both sides blamed each other for this rift, no one could come to an agreement about how to end it. It had almost broken the cords, especially between Chora and his father, and they may never get re-attached.
Being the eldest of the three, Chora was obligated to carry on their family legacy, which was greatly recognized by the locals. When he reached maturity, destiny routed him toward a direction contrary to that which his family intended. He got pleasure in stealing possessions from his pals, starting as early as his boyhood days. The passion that began with meager items gradually transformed into wealthy possessions, landing him in his current state, and there was no indication that his uncharacteristic state would end anytime soon. This realization by his elders contributed heavily toward the current altercation, which culminated in cutting their bonds. The announcement that he and his family might break ties was sure to follow.
On the contrary, Chora’s siblings were leading lives totally contrasting from his. They carried their family’s burden along with the shame inflicted by the public after witnessing their elder brother’s uncharacteristic actions. Repeated persuasions from his family members and well-wishers were never enough to sway Chora from his criminal acts. His response to their attempts was that there is no harm to be cruel to the society that is alike in nature. He defended his menial actions by declaring that he was stealing from the public, who were indirectly doing the same to their fellow beings. If he had to be blamed, so should everyone else; thus was his explanation to support his chauvinism.
From the time Chora entered into this unsavory profession, he remained alone as his family maintained distant relationships with him due to his immoral lifestyle. They anticipated an event that would alter his irrational thinking, though that may result in getting caught and undergoing a severe punishment. However, thus far, Chora’s abilities to conceal his theft were so superior that no evidence could be found to implicate him. His father desperately awaited the day when he would see his son alter his criminal behavior, at which time Chora would be graciously accepted back into the family. Chora also hoped that his family would come to understand his actions and accept him back into the fold. Both sides were waiting for contradictory events to occur, where one’s success was dependent on the other’s failure.
Every morning, Chora scanned the town, sometimes traveling beyond local boundaries to identify a set of vulnerable properties that he could trespass without undertaking much risk. He meticulously planned his thievery during the night, identifying his target homes in the morning. After his operations were completed for that night, he sold all of the stolen material as quickly as possible so as not to leave any evidence of his offense. Though Chora was satisfied with his unethical earnings, the fact that he was not accepted by his family still left a heavy void in him.
One day, as Chora was on his usual drill in pursuit of homes, he found a large house that caught his eye. To further evaluate its potential, he approached the house cautiously, keeping vigil of the surroundings. To his surprise, he found a window wide open, which offered him good motivation to barge right into the house, given the chance. Though he usually did not intend to steal during daylight, this opportunity provided the motivation for him to switch his nocturnal task to morning.
Upon doing a quick scan inside the room while peeping through the window from the outside, he found no immediate barrier for his entry. The room was unoccupied, and he heard no voices that might indicate any residents in the immediate area. As a precautionary measure, Chora decided to wait for a while, lurking around the bushes close to the window while gauging all the surroundings.
After determining that it was safe to enter, he enthusiastically lunged into the house through the window, tiptoeing into several rooms on the lower floor. The house looked like a sanctuary of possessions with no human presence thus far. He suspected that the residents were out of town and forgot to close the window.
Chora thought, “This could be the steal of my life if I could accomplish it tonight! But, why wait for tonight? Why not start something now and finish the rest at night?” He was becoming increasingly anxious to begin his robbery immediately.
Chora then heard a gentle babbling sound, signaling him to duck behind the door of the room he currently occupied. He listened for a while as he heard the next series of sounds, which represented the presence of an infant! Anticipating low risk, he stepped out and tiptoed toward the direction of the sound.
As expected, Chora spied a baby playing in a playpen filled with toys. He moved a bit forward to see if anyone else was present in the room, but found no one. He decided to step away from the room so as not to induce any alarm, should the baby start crying upon seeing him. However, the cute baby’s charming smile stopped him from simply walking away. Wanting to experience it more, Chora moved closer to get a better view.
The baby immediately turned her attention toward Chora as soon as he entered. She smiled warmly at him as if she were welcoming him into the room. Chora did not know how to reciprocate that gesture. He was in doubt as to whether to avoid this acquaintance and scoot away, so as not to alert anyone, or to stay and absorb the cuteness delivered from the baby’s facial expressions.
While Chora debated these conflicting thoughts, the baby swayed her hand gently and started dropping several toys outside her playpen. Chora just stood there trying not to move at all, still not knowing how to react to these gestures. The baby continued her actions of gently throwing toys onto the floor, as if offering them to the intruder. These actions, combined with innocent looks, captivated Chora for a brief period. It reminded him of an old saying about how children are represented as symbols of purity. This innocent baby did not recognize Chora’s offensive nature. Rather, she simply wanted a companion to play with her.
As Chora felt himself being tugged further toward the baby, he heard a sound, indicating that someone was approaching the room. This caused him to break his temporary bonding and station himself into defensive mode.
He ducked under a table to hide as he saw a woman enter the room, pick up the baby and leave. Being aware of Chora’s hiding place, the baby gently waved her hand in his direction, maintaining her gaze until he was out of her sight. So as not to get apprehended, Chora had to escape from the house as soon as possible. In a moment, he was out on the street.
However, the thoughts of his encounter with the baby lingered in his mind. Chora’s larcenous nature was subdued a bit by this very brief acquaintance that showered sprinkles of compassion in him. He thought out loud, “Why can’t my family act like that with me?” These bittersweet thoughts temporarily prevented Chora from performing his scheduled criminal operations that night.
The following day, Chora approached the house once more since his previous inspection was suddenly aborted. Though this time he was present to evaluate his nightly theft potential, he experienced a sense of desire to see the baby again. His subconscious mind directed him to walk toward the open window. He was quick to reach the room where he had the encounter the previous day, but there were no signs of the baby this time.
Chora experienced a touch of disappointment, but the entry enabled him to quickly scan the interior one more time to plan his operations for that night. After evaluating everything, he ensured the certainty of his night’s operation.
As he stepped outside from the open window, Chora turned back before walking away from the location to check once more if he could see the baby. But, recalling how the brief encounter interfered with his plans the previous day, he turned away so as not to have any hindrances that might impact his job that night.
At midnight, Chora approached the house for the third time. He typically had to work hard to devise a scheme to enter his victims’ homes, but, in this case, due to the open window, he was on his job right from the start, looking for valuables that he could steal while tiptoeing around the house.
While engrossed in piling things in his bag, Chora heard a voice that said, “Who are you?” while the lights were switched on at the same time.
With this unexpected event, he instantly went into offensive mode ready to draw his weapon. As he turned around, he saw two individuals, an older couple standing with their canes stuck to the ground. Chora did not know whether he should retrieve his weapon or simply frighten them with his ferocious attitude.
Before planning his impending attack, the old woman spoke in a crumbled voice, “Are you lost? I hope you did not forget where your house is!”
“He doesn’t seem to be drunk,” said the old man as he sniffed the air, coming a bit closer to Chora.
Chora remained stiff, being careful not to change his posture at all. He could not understand how the elders could not identify the thief in him, despite his gloves and face mask.
Since the couple did not get any response from the intruder, they walked slowly towards Chora with their canes rising up and down in tandem with their slow walk.
“Maybe he is deaf,” said the woman. “Can you hear me?” she asked, raising her voice.
“No, he might be dumb,” said the old man.
Chora was still not ready to reveal his identity, nor did he intend to attack. His ambivalence was in line with the couple’s confusion about who the stranger could be.
As this one-sided conversation ensued, the couple approached Chora even closer and started examining him. With these actions, Chora was anticipating having to draw his weapon, but, considering the weak opposition, he decided to first send a threat signal.
However, the wife did not give him the chance. Before Chora’s hand could reach his weapon, the woman grabbed his hand and said, “Oh, don’t be shy! Come sit on this couch. That will ease your nerves.”
The old man sat next to him as if wanting to make close conversation, as the woman walked away into another room.
“So, do you always wear a face mask?” the husband asked as he got even closer to Chora’s face. Chora had to shrug back to avoid such a close encounter.
“Oh, wait, now I know, you are thief. Darling, he is a thief!”
Chora heard a laugh from the kitchen as soon as the old man identified him. The wife acknowledged her husband’s finding with that laugh, indicating how late he was in this recognition.
While all of this turned out to be eventful for the old couple, Chora was left in an utterly uncomfortable state. He could not speak or even take action to escape from them. Then came an aroma of a fresh cup of tea, as the wife brought out a kettle and three cups, along with condiments on a wooden tray. She placed them on the vintage ottoman right in front of Chora.
“You can remove your mask. We are here to serve you nice tea, not to hurt you! We are old people; what can we do other than offering this tea?” sighed the old woman.
The couple exchanged delicate smiles as they looked toward Chora, which also caused him to calm down a bit.
Chora was now comfortable enough to remove his mask. As he did, the old man said, “You have a handsome face; if you shave, you will look even more handsome. So, what’s your story?”
With that, the wife handed over the cup of tea. “Do you drink tea? It will be refreshing, especially at this time of night.”
With almost all the conversation coming from one side, Chora was obliged to speak. “I am a thief, and I’ve come here to steal”, he declared.
“Well, a stranger during this part of the night needs no introduction,” said the husband. “Have a cup of tea, and we will discuss about the stealing later.”
Chora had no choice but to take him up on his offer. As he took his first sip, Chora plunged into a comfort zone. He was not sure if it was just the tea or the old woman’s way of steeping the hot beverage.
Then the round of conversations began, and there was enough tea for them to run the whole night.
For at least a couple of hours, they all immersed themselves into pleasant conversations. The wife offered some leftovers from that night, serving them all as exchanges were made about the families on both sides.
During the conversation, the old man mentioned his lost son. At the same time, Chora shared his ill feelings toward his own family. The old couple reacted light-heartedly to his rantings, nodding their heads throughout the steamy conversation, being careful not to oppose too much, though they were doing that intrinsically.
Then Chora questioned, “Let me ask you straight out… if I were your son, would you accept me?”
Glancing at each other, the couple shared the same delicate smile that they had been expressing the whole time.
“If we were your parents, you wouldn’t have been in a stranger’s house at this time of night to ask this question,” said the wife, as she laid her palms on her husband’s thigh, which he acknowledged by gently stroking her hand.
“Let me tell you something,” the old man said, taking over. “Someone hates someone because that someone was allowed to be despised. And, someone loves someone because they are in love, no matter what. It takes just a moment to become foes, while it might take a lifetime to be in love. You cannot guarantee that love will last forever once it blossoms. It is a continuous journey that must be nurtured constantly until it reaches its zenith. It is so much easier to get an enemy than to get a lover. It is always tempting to take the easier path, but the hardest one is the only one that remains forever.”
The old man sipped the last portion of his third serving of tea as he gestured to his wife for one more. She had already responded with a filled cup.
After the first sip, he continued, “Tackle hatred with love! Though it might give you anxiety and push you to the edge, tackle it with a brave heart. One day, what you want will be yours.”
A pause settled between them for a while, as both wife and husband sipped their last batch of tea, emptying their cups. At this time, the wife started yawning, not because of the conversation, but because of the lateness of the hour.
Upon witnessing this, the husband said, “Well, my lady is pushing us to go to bed, which I must oblige. You are free to take whatever you want. Consider this house as your own. But, please, leave the box of cigars. That was a gift from my best friend, and they are precious. I can offer you one, but not more than that.” Grabbing the box, the old man tossed one toward Chora.
The couple then walked slowly into their bedroom, their canes resonating along with their heavy steps during their steady walk. Then, the door was shut, and silence prevailed.
In a moment, everything reverted to its original state except for Chora’s mood, as he pondered the last two hours of conversations. He was here for the steal of his life, but he now sat heavy-hearted, with no interest in even looking at the expensive watch that the old man laid on the ottoman before retiring for the night.
Chora walked toward the bedroom that the old couple entered. As he opened the door slowly, he saw them resting on their bed as soundly as two cats, along with the baby in the crib next to them. He could not understand what a baby was doing with this elderly couple. Perhaps, she was part of their family. No wonder the baby showed compassion in her own way, something she, no doubt, inherited from the old couple, Chora thought, as he slowly closed the door.
The compassion showered upon him by these two had touched Chora to his core. In just two hours, he started thinking about how to abandon his long unethical profession and get back to his family. The advice given by the old timer—tackle hatred with love—continued to ring in his ears. He couldn’t think of any remedy better than this. Chora decided to take the first step to offer love to the family who had nothing but hatred in their hearts. For that to happen, he had to first shed his old veil.
With that, Chora, who had broken into a home for the steal of his life, left his gloves, mask and weapon on the ottoman, indicating his retirement, and also as sovereigns of their conversation. It contradicted his past job of stealing where things were to be grabbed and not to be left. However, he did perform one last steal, the compassion that was first expressed as a sprinkle from the baby, dissipated in large amounts by the couple in open air that night. He took everything, not even leaving an ounce, which he desperately needed. Years of reprimands had never come close to what he received from the couple in just two hours that night. But he could never forget the preparatory effort provided by an infant the previous day that warmed his psyche just enough to be open to the philosophy from the oldies the next day. Two extreme ends of the age spectrum had contributed toward his realization. For Chora, a steal concluded for the first time that redeemed his unethical behavior forever as he embarked on the second part of his life. This was indeed a great steal!
