Today, I was robbed.
Literally.
This happened at approximately 2:30pm today. I was sitting in a tram, cruising along Smith Street, about to grab lunch from one of those Vietnamese bakeries. But lunch had to wait – someone decided it was a good idea to snatch my Macbook out of my very hands and dash out of the tram. At that very instant, my heart dropped and I was in a complete blank. Instinctively, I hopped off the tram and started to give chase, yelling like a madwoman as I blasted down Smith Street. Before I knew it, I had four men joining the chase (and subsequently, hunt) and running ahead of me. Soon, a family on bicycles roped in as well. But we lost the thief. He was lightning.
I grew more despondent with each second we spent turning our heads and stretching our necks in search of him. But as it turns out, luck was on my side today. Someone said they had caught him running into a bar and I followed the crowd. When I got to the bar, the first thing I saw were napkins. Piles of napkins stained with fresh, red blood. I saw a man stretched out on the ground, clutching the back of his head. He lost so much blood he couldn’t stand. But I saw no laptop, no hint of my maroon Macbook sleeve. It’s not him, some told me. A couple asked if I was alright, but I grew misty eyed and they offered to phone the police for me.
The police arrived shortly and a handful sprinted off to catch the thief. I waited in the vicinity, locked in a daze and dreading the hefty cost of replacing my Macbook. Then, by a miraculous stroke of luck, two men started walking towards me, one of them clutching a maroon Macbook sleeve. My maroon Macbook sleeve. My Macbook! I promptly hugged him and thanked the hell out of him. He said they had found it in a bush, hypothesizing the thief probably figured he wasn’t going to get away with half of Collingwood hot on his heels.
The entire saga ended with me recording a statement and being offered lollies at the police station. And I could finally get lunch.
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Now that I’m past the initial shock, all I feel now is gratitude. I didn’t think I would have retrieved a stolen Macbook within an hour and escape unscathed! I feel immensely thankful. Thankful for the witnesses who gave chase and persevered. Thankful for those who poured forth with help and advice. I’ve been in Melbourne for almost a year and I’ve always known Melburnians to be friendly, but today, I was overwhelmed with their kindness. Each of them was a hero and I definitely wouldn’t be able to type this if not for them.
I’m thanking my stars tonight. What an adventure.