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"Paying the Toll"

The longing for worldly possessions is incredible. The further we advance in our society, the more things we long to have. But as the want for greater things comes up, as does the price tag. The true question we have to ask humanity is, how great does the need have to be versus the price tag that we feel the need to break our moral code and commit theft? And what is it that we want that blinds us from what we truly have, once taken?

A city bus, the perfect scene to set for what I've done. Paid my toll and walked down the aisle, the select few eyes looming to see the next victim. Once seated, everyone else seemed to lose interest. I sat my purse down beside me and looked toward the window. I was unsure how long it would be before reaching my destination, all I knew was I needed to act quickly.
I took one quick glance across the bus to see if anyone would have their eyes on me. Lucky for me, everyone was minding their own business. I looked over to the guy sitting next to me.
"How's the city life treating you?" I asked, using a hand to whip my hair out of my face and over my shoulder.
He looked up and over to me, shocked that I was talking to him. "Just getting by, ya know." He turned his full attention to me. I noticed his eyes shooting a quick glance down at me. Good, I had him in my trap.
"How long have you lived here?" I asked, turned my body toward him slightly.
"Not long, just about four months." he said.
I turned toward him just enough to give him the slightest peak down my shirt. It worked, as I noticed him catching peeks at it every few seconds. Men are so easily controlled, I thought. I'd lost track of what I was talking to him about, my only goal was to keep him distracted.
The way I leaned in closer to him, with a hint of seduction, made him lean closer as well. Teasing with intimacy so I could sneak my move. Perfect.
As he became entranced by my features, I had him distracted enough with the way I looked at him, that I was easily able to reach behind him and grab his wallet from his back pocket.
He jumped slightly and it almost had me afraid of being caught. He instead smirked at me and tried reaching a hand toward me. I playfully dodged it and scooted back to my seat in a teasing manor. He recoiled awkwardly back to where he was at. I noticed the lady across from us shooting us confused glances before turning her gaze back to her phone.
I slid the wallet into my purse and carried on as if nothing had happened.

It felt like an eternity to wait but I was finally home with my prize. I made my way to my kitchen table and pulled it out. It was another beautiful piece, a trophy to one of my best feats in a long while.
I wasn't always the kind of person to steal from people. In fact, I'm the kind that likes to help. Taking away from them makes me feel bad, but a woman has to survive somehow. Especially living in a big city where nobody is hiring.
I opened the wallet, the smell of dust and old leather filled the air. Why does nobody clean their wallets? Do they enjoy the weird smell or what?
The wallet didn't have much, aside from some ID cards and some other credit cards that were probably expired, judging by the wear on them. There was no cash inside. There was, however, a folded up piece of paper. I pulled it out and unfolded it.
There was a phone number, along with a time and date scribbled below it. It read today's date. The time, an hour from now.
Oh dear god, I thought. What had I gotten myself into? Was this guy in trouble? Was this some kind of number for a family being held ransom? My mind was spinning. All I could think was, whatever I was doing was ruining this man's life.
I took a deep breath and tried thinking of something logical. Perhaps it was a repair shop or a lover that didn't have much free time. Truth be told, the number could be a lot of things.
Just then, the lights went out. I screamed at the sudden darkness and deafening silence. Someone had done this.
I heard the front door squeak open and footsteps scampering across the floor.
"I know you have my wallet," a creepy man's voice whispered in my ear.
I tried to run but he had a tight grip on my hair. The recoil made me slip and fall backwards on the ground. I felt a sharp object stab deep into my shoulder before the footsteps scurried away.

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