Criminal, Look At Me!

Criminal, look at me! “Don’t look at me, Don’t look at me!” You yell, While holding a gun to my head. “Get down, get down, all the way to the floor!” you yell again. My heart is beating wildly, my eyes are wide. “What does he want? Why is he doing this to us?” “Where’s the money? I know you got money! Show me where the money is. Where is it?” You yell. I see the stark white face of my son, I see the determination in his face. It scares me. “ We have no money, we are poor, there is no money,” he answeres you. I look up. “Get down, get down, quit looking at me, or I’ll shoot you!” You again spit those words at me. Wildly you tear objects off shelves, rip a mattress off the bed. Kick a tackle box open, look into containers. I wonder, will you shoot us because we have no money? “I have some money in my purse, you can have it, “ I say. “It is in the other room.“ On the way out of my son’s room You grab his “Penny jar” which also holds some bills. I give you all my money, which was meant to buy a teddybear for my little granddaughter’s birthday. “Where are the phones? Show me the phones!” We stumble from room to room, watch you yank our phones and lines out of walls. You tuck my kitchen phone under your arm, together with the DVD player. “Now, get into that back room, go on, get! Get in there, now!” Oh, what now? I think. Will he shoot us? I wonder. “Get in there and don’t move,! If I see any movement, I will shoot!” You yell. We enter the bedroom, stand there with wildly beating hearts, waiting, listening… I call 911 on the cell phone. Suddenly my voice sounds shaky and stumbling, even to me. “We need help, we were robbed at gunpoint.” I tell the attendant. But you, criminal, are gone. No one knows who you are. Why you did this to us? You took little money to make such a drastic move worthwhile. What matters most is that you took my trust in humanity. After all these years of open doors, I now will lock them. Why would someone so young; I could tell you were just a kid; why would you turn to a life of crime and misery? I hope that someone will help you. I will do my part and see that you will be brought to justice. Hopefully then, you can stop, think, get help and understanding. I really want this to happen. But, if it does not happen this way- criminal, listen to me. Next time, we will be prepared Believe me!