Chasing the Thieves

The moment I read the contest post, my experience in July 2018 immediately popped through my head. I experienced war five times, but I'm not a soldier, so I'm guessing it cannot be considered an encounter.

Storytime...

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It took me months to be convinced by my colleagues and also to convince myself that I need a phone. My phone before was Nokia 1100 with a non-functional space bar and a body wrapped in scotch tape. I was in my second year of working gal, and hadn't bought a phone yet.

So whenever I replied to a text message, it looks like this:

Hello!Good.morning.I.am.still.at.home.Will.be.there.in.an.hour.

My family hadn't started yet the bakery at that time, so it was just me, as the breadwinner. I can't afford to buy a phone in full cash, so I decided to avail the Globe Postpaid promos. That was when I had my Huawei P10 plus a Globe sim and the call, text, and data promo.

With my new phone, I no longer borrowed a phone from my colleague to take a photo. I joined Steemit in October 2017, and my phone was very useful and convenient since my home is a 45-min drive from the university I was working. Aside from that, I had to wait for the bus for an hour or more. By the time I arrived home, I'm already done drafting my blog.

My routine before was home - work - gym - home. On July 5, 2018, after clocking out to work, I went straight to the fitness gym. It was past 8 PM when I finished working out, and my boyfriend was waiting for me near the university. While riding a jeepney, I busied myself drafting a blog on my phone.

A few minutes later, three teenagers rode and were beside me. I blocked their view of my phone and also lowered it down, just in case they were a thief. I messaged Antoni that I'm near already, just a few meters away from my drop-off. As I hit the send button, the tall boy grabbed the phone and the three of them jumped off the jeepney. I was still in an adrenaline rush from the workout so I jumped off, too, and chased them. I ran as fast as I could, hoping there were police on duty since it happened in front of the university. Unfortunately, there was none, and the place was dark.

I forgot how dangerous it was, without even thinking that even if I will be able to catch them, they probably are carrying a knife. I was shouting but nobody helped. As they turned right, they ran to the creek that was only darkness. I did not cry. Everyone was just staring at me, and I was trembling with anger.

Then someone knew me by my face, so he approached me and asked what happened. That's when I started crying because my phone is one of my sources of income. I asked if I could borrow his phone to message my boyfriend. A Barangay Task Force came, asked questions, then announced in a walkie-talkie to block the possible exits from the creek. Also, a couple riding a motorcycle arrived and said they tried to follow the thieves who went to a certain barangay. We tried. The Barangay task force tried. But I decided to give up, and it's all up to God.

Antoni called my father to fetch me at the police station. I was crying until dawn. I was back to using my old Nokia with a sim, which has 10 GB of data, and the pictures I hadn't backed up yet. My mother kept comforting me that it was just a phone and I still can buy a new one.

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My Huawei P10 now is from Antoni. He wanted to give the phone to me, but I insisted on paying him. He bought a new phone, and then he gave me his P10. Thanks to him, I was able to continue blogging and until now, it still serves me well.

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_{This is my entry to the Steemit Philippines contest, and I'm inviting Auntie @olivia08, my friend @tomogiroe, and my sister @goiinmary to join the said contest.}