A Stroke Of Originality

Terry walked into the market and observed the bread. It cost way more than he had anticipated, and on top of that, he couldn’t find his wallet. Terry hadn’t eaten in two days, and couldn’t bear the thought of going a third day. Looking to his left and his right to make sure no one was watching, he grabbed the bread and thrust it in his jacket. The exit was within his eyesight, and Terry started to get anxious as he walked towards it. Each step caused his nerves to go crazy, heart to pound, and sweat to drip. Once outside, Terry turned the corner quickly, letting out a sigh of relief as he looked over his shoulder and saw no one.

“Hey, you!” A voice shouted in the rear.

Terry turned to look, and the man began sprinting towards him.

“Wait!” The man shouted again.

Terry took off in a full sprint bumping into oncoming pedestrians.

“Stop! Stop running!”

Hopping a nearby fence, Terry fell in a muddy puddle and struggled to get up. Until the hand of the pursuer gripping the gate gave him more motivation to get up and get going. Within seconds Terry pushed up himself up and fled from his pursuer. The mud on the bottoms of his shoes caused him to slip every few steps. As Terry ran, he pushed whatever he could onto the walkway. He lost his balance when his shoes lost their grip completely, almost stumbling into a nearby warehouse. After regaining his balance, Terry was taken aback when the pursuer rammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

“What the hell are you running from!” The man yelled as he breathed heavily.

“Get off of me!” Terry raged.

Terry started moving frantically until the man got up. The guy hovered over Terry with a confused look on his face. Terry jumped up hastily, ready to scuffle with the guy.

“I’m not trying to fight you, sir.” The man held his hands up.

“Stay away from me.” Terry held his fists up.

“Look, I have your wallet. You dropped it.”

Terry slowly started to calm down as a big grin crept across his face.

“My wallet?”

“Yes, here you go. Looks like I made you smash your bread. Here let me reimburse you for it. I’m Nick.” He said as he handed over the wallet.

“You don’t have to do that. My wallet is enough.”

“No, I do. Take it, it’s yours.” Nick said as he shoved money in Terry’s pocket.

Nick waved at Terry and walked away. Before he knew it, Terry had tears falling down his eyes. Today, he could eat.