雨水 [10] / [35]
I bet we were both happy at that time, but it wasn't obvious if that was because we genuinely were or because we were trying to show ourselves off as happy for each other since we were gradually getting more distressed economically. But we were young and still had enough spirit to find happiness in our daily lives back then.
On her birthday, we decided to have a great dinner to celebrate our baby. I was off from the bar for the day. I made up my mind to spend big money for that event. She gladly booked the restaurant, and searched for some beautiful places to visit. She planned the course of this rare and special date.
On the day, I was going back home with my pay in an envelope. The bookstore I had done a part time job at was suffering from financial difficulties for several months and recovered well. I didn’t get a salary for two months. A few other employees quit since salaries were delayed. But I stayed because I enjoyed the work, and the owner liked me. He was a good man.
When the condition got better to the extent that he could pay salaries to employees, the owner gave 2 months of my pay and a bonus to me in the envelope. That was a quite a large amount money for me. I could pay for dinner at the restaurant we booked that night, pay the taxi fare for a comfortable day trip, and potentially pay for a luxurious hotel to spend one or two nights. My heart was bouncing with joy. I put the envelope in my bag, took the subway to go back home and fell asleep standing up.
When I opened my eyes, I realized something was wrong. I passed far away from the stop where I should have gotten off. Even if I took another train to go back home, it would take about an hour. The time we booked the dinner for was 7 p.m, and it was past 6 p.m. when I checked the time. I had no choice, so I decided to take a taxi. I was searching for a taxi while I went through the bag to find the money.
And I noticed that I was robbed. Somebody stole the money from my bag. And not just the money. Everything in my bag, including the envelop with my 2 months of salary and bonus inside, was taken. I found a cut mark on my bag made by a knife. I remember that, before I took a seat in the subway, I was standing among a crowd of people.
In a moment, my thinking stopped dead. I stood still, frozen where I was once walking. I searched the empty bag again in vain, despite already knowing there was no use in doing that. All I was thinking about was finding the money.
I went back to the subway station, and I got off in a flurry, grabbed the first station employee I met and almost implored her to hear my situation. She kindly accompanied me to check the CCTV video, but as soon as I watched the monitor, I was in deep despair. There were dozens of monitors showing countless exits and moreover, there were no cameras inside of the subway cars. It wasn't possible to see who the thief was.
Besides, the route I stayed on in the subway was too long. Of course, it wouldn't be easy either if the route was short. The staff took pity on me, and some people in the office on the subway platform recommended that I report the theft to the police station. Somebody grumbly said. ‘I don’t think police can do anything for that, boy.’