Shoplifter

Saturday morning we went to a big market for some designated souvenir shopping. There were a lot of local specialties, like pearls and shells, as well as the usual plastic toys and house sandals. Actually, it struck us as a particularly odd place to shop while on holiday since almost everything we saw could be bought on the street where we live. So, Bryce was walking amongst these wares, wondering how he got stuck there when shouting broke out on the walk in front of him.

A little girl, perhaps ten years old, with a long pony tail and a decidedly spunky attitude had been accused of shoplifting. The shop owner was the one shouting and had the girl’s hands held tightly together in front of her. The girl was pleading and explaining in a rather pitiful way and tried to tug her hands away. A uniformed guard came and took over the hand binding, twisting the girl’s hands behind her back. The pleading turned into shouting, kicking and biting. She was dragged away and locked behind bars by the impassive guard. She continued to kick and scream while a young boy (maybe a brother) grabbed her arms and legs in futile attempts to pull her out.

As Bryce was telling the story (shouting clearly heard in the background), Maggie looked up at me with wide eyes and said, “I want to see the girl in the cage.” So she did.

I’m sure it would have been even more dramatic if we had known the specific meaning of the words she kept shrieking, but our dear friend avoided translating by just explaining again that she was accused of shoplifting. After about 10 minutes a woman came (maybe a mother) and the girl was released and left with the woman. We’re not sure of any further consequences for that little girl but I think both Maggie and Titus were convinced that shoplifting’s not really worth it.