5/30/2023 0 Comments Come like a thief in the nightHe took it off, then carefully hung it on the doorknob and walked out into the night. ‘Do you want your helmet back?’ he asked. You shouldn’t be here you need to leave.’ And then I gently but firmly walked him towards the exit.Īt the door, he paused. Because I am not a saint and there were five sleeping children in the house, I said, ‘No. I realized he was about to sit down and ask for a cup of tea. But then he put down my grandmother’s jewellery, and pulled out a chair. I watched another fleeting ‘Whoops!’ fly across his face, and wondered what would happen next. We said we didn’t want it, but he insisted we come to his house the next day to collect it, and he gave us his address. ‘Don’t tell on me!’ he said, and offered us money not to report him. But my friend kept chatting as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be in the dining room wearing my bike helmet, and us standing there in our pyjamas. I wondered if he was going to attack us and there was a moment there. She said very kindly, ‘Are you okay? I think you might be a bit confused.’ That’s when I realized he was off his face, agitated and jittery my fear shot through the roof. ‘Whoops!’ he said, clutching the jewellery box and taking a belligerent step towards us. He had holes in his jeans and holes in his shoes, his t-shirt was grubby, and from beneath the helmet his greasy hair stuck out in all directions. But this thief was wearing my old bike helmet. Subconsciously I think I’d assumed the thief would be a bit like David Niven of Pink Panther fame: slim waist, debonair, and impeccably dressed. And that’s when we found a thief in the dining room, pocketing my grandmother’s jewellery. And so I was woken at 3am by my friend whispering, ‘Ali! Ali, wake up! There’s someone in the house …’ Heart pounding, I crawled out of bed, and we crept out together to see. My husband was in Melbourne, but a friend and her daughters had come to stay. When a thief broke into our house one night, I was sound asleep. Jesus may come looking poor, scruffy, and dangerous – and he’ll probably take something precious away.
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