Chapter 2: The Chase

“You’re always handsome, uncle,” said Ella, with a smile on her face showing her full, good teeth.

As planned, Simon’s barber gave him a good look. He trimmed and shaved his hair for about an hour. They were making him look like a model for a prestigious magazine. At the same time, Seth and Ella cannot contain themselves about how good-looking their uncle is in his new hairstyle.

Simon smiled. “You think so?”

She smiled at him and gave him two thumbs up. “Without a doubt.”

Ella is Seth’s older sibling. Simon seemed as old as her. If she had followed his advice, she would do well in business rather than become a policewoman. Ella didn’t seem interested in their company, as she was more interested in being a policewoman. She holds a Police Academy degree with the highest honor and rank.

“If you were done with your antics, Uncle, it would be nice to have a vacation again before they transferred me to another station,” said Ella.

Seth smirked. Simon glared at Seth and turned towards Ella.

“Are you about to be dispatched? Why?” Simon asked. “You can’t do that. I will ask Samuel to speak to your superior, so….”

Ella laughed. “This is really how it is, uncle. I can’t be at the same station forever, and you know that, don’t you? Besides, Rizal is just three hours away,” Ella explains.

“If that’s the case, I’ll ask Samuel to get you a new car first thing in the morning. I think that makes you feel safer. That means you can go home,” Simon said.

She was the only woman in the family after Samuel’s wife died. Ella is his favorite, perhaps because she is the only rose among the spines. And then there’s Seth, a 17-year-old kid who still makes fun of him. When Samuel dies, Ella and Seth inherit the company, so he wants Ella to be something other than a policewoman. It’s a life-threatening job for her. Of course, he knows, he was in the military when he was 50. On one occasion, it surprised them when a police officer called them to tell them that Ella was in the hospital. Since then, he and Samuel have made it a habit of checking on her while on duty.

“How about me, uncle? Would you buy me a new car?” Seth asked with a twinkle in his eyes like a cute mouse begging for cheese.

Simon raised an eyebrow at Seth. “If you improve your education, I might consider it.”

Seth scratched his head. “My grades are good, Uncle. Well, it’s not the best, but at least I am not failing,” said Seth.

“Hmmm! Considering proper manners and behavior, you are a failure. You’re not showing me any respect. Don’t forget that our age difference is 500 years, even if we look the same age.” Simon said it with a serious face.

Seth frowned but never responded.

-

A woman was screaming across the street. The scream awakens Simon’s blank mind while he walks as his morning exercise.

“What happened?” He asked as he approached the woman.

“That man took my bag.” And the woman screamed.

Simon dashed, like a firebolt, and chased the man. Being professional in his illegal job, the man ran fast and looked adept at stealing and snatching things. It was a regular market day, and people were everywhere, giving him a hard time catching the culprit.

He immediately pushed the man’s back so that he fell into the fish tubs in the wet market. He punched it once, and it fell. Many people watch them as if they were watching a live-action film. Simon immediately grabbed the woman’s bag and turned his back on the man. But as he was walking away, the people were shouting, so he turned his back to the big man again and stabbed him in the stomach. The man smiled at him as if he had repaid him. Simon felt the pain and the stabbing of the knife in his stomach. The man also pulled the knife out of his stomach and tried to grab his bag. He gripped the bag. The man frowned and looked at his stomach, which had traces of blood on his clothes—perhaps wondering why he was so strong and still standing despite stabbing him.

Astonished, the man was slightly stunned, so he banged his head hard on the man’s head, and it fell into the tub full of fish. He looked around, dizzy. He felt a liquid flow from his head down to the corner of his eye. Everyone is worried and shocked.

“Who owns them?” he asked people as he took his wallet out of his pocket.

Three women and a man approached him. They do not speak and stare. He handed five thousand each to the four owners of the bathtub.

“I’m sorry,” said Simon.

One of the four asked him, “Are you alright?”

He just nodded and turned his back on them.

-

He returned to the woman to return the bag when he noticed she was talking to a policewoman. As he came closer, both turned towards him and continued talking again. And in the blink of an eye, the police officer was trying to get closer to him. He stepped back with an adrenaline rush.

“Geez, wait,” Simon said to the police.

But the policewoman wouldn’t listen. He had a bad feeling about it, so he also ran away when she ran to him. A police officer was pursuing him. While running, he didn’t expect to enjoy escaping from a police officer. He was like a happy child doing what he was doing. It’s been decades since he ran like that. He went into an alley and hid.

He leaned against the wall of an establishment. ‘How come it never occurred to me to be a thief? Running from the police is quite amusing.’ Simon thought.

Simon laughed at what he thought. He stopped laughing while the police officer stood before him.

Right in the car, he was already telling the police what had happened, but she didn’t believe him. The woman he helped wouldn’t say a word. She seated herself quietly beside him.

He sat on the other side of the table, as did the woman.

“I told you, I was just helping her. Why don’t you look at me? I got stabbed because I helped her, and now you’re accusing me? I can sue you.” said Simon.

The policewoman looked him in the eye. “This woman says differently. She said you grabbed her bag”.

And Simon looked at the woman. “Miss, I didn’t take your bag. I did something for you. I even gave it back to you. Exceptionally, I got beaten and stabbed. You’re such a liar.”

The policewoman glared at Simon. He stared, but she suddenly avoided his eyes.

“Uncle Simon?” wondered Ella.

The policewoman and Simon turned around.

“Ella.” “Sarge.” The police officer and Simon spoke at the same time.

Both women salute each other.

“What are you doing here, uncle?” asked Ella. “Oh! What happened to you? You are all right, uncle? You have blood all over you.”

“Yes, I’m fine. You know that I’m always okay,” Simon said.

“Your uncle?” asked the policewoman.

“Yes, sergeant. What happened?” she asked.

“He took my bag; I was walking, and then he seized my bag, so I was screaming,” said the woman.

Ella looked at the woman. “Are you sure this guy took your bag?” asked Ella in disbelief.

“Yes. I’m sure.” said the woman.

Shortly after, two police officers arrived. With them was a man with a bloodstained forehead. Simon stared at the man and the two police officers. He stood up and went up to the man.

“What’s his case?” Ella asked her colleagues.

Neither officer could answer Ella’s questions because four people approached them. They immediately greeted Simon and approached him.

“Boss, thank you so much for being early. You don’t know how much you helped us,” said the man.

“Do you know him?” the policewoman asked.

“We just met a few minutes ago. He went after this thief. They even fought. Our fish tubs broke, and they scattered the fish along the way. And he paid for the damage,” said the woman.

The officer looked at Simon and then at the woman.

“Mom, help me. They’re going to lock me up.” said the man holding the two police officers.

He spoke with the woman seated at the table. The lady who accused Simon and everyone else there looked at each other.

-

When Ella brings Simon home, he finds Seth in the living room. He was sitting there, watching a film. Simon sat beside Seth and watched the movie. Seth spoke with Simon.

“What happened to you, uncle?” said Seth to Simon. “Why are you so bloody?”

Simon didn’t even look at Seth. “I went after a thief. He stabbed me, and I hit him on the head using mine.”

“Did you do that? Wow, you’re an amazing uncle. Too bad I was not there to witness it with my own eyes,” Seth laughed.

Simon looked at Seth. “It was I who was accused by the woman whom I helped. She said I took her bag, so the police went after me.”

Seth’s eyes grew bigger. “Uncle, the police went after you.”

“Luckily, witnesses came, and the burglar was an accomplice of the woman I helped,” Simon said.

“But why do you seem happy?” asked Seth, bewildered.

“When the police ran to me, I ran as well.” Simon laughed.

“Did you run from the police?” Seth said this in shock.

“Yeah, she chased me until she caught me.” Simon was giggling.

Simon laughs as Seth looks at him.

“Uncle, why did you do such a thing? And you’re still thrilled because the police are chasing you? Are you crazy, uncle? I thought you were a decent man, “Seth said with one eyebrow raised.

Simon stared at Seth. “You know you are truly rude to me. How about I take away your inheritance?”

Seth grabbed his head. “Wh-whoa! Uncle, did you forget that normal people don’t want to be pursued by a police officer, but you’re ecstatic that it happened to you? Come on. You are an unbelievable uncle!”

“Because I haven’t been able to do that in decades,” Simon said.

“Being arrested by law enforcement?” Seth asked.

Simon hit Seth one more time. “Silly!”

“Uncle, it hurts!” Seth’s complaint

“I say it’s better to run for a reason than for exercise,” Simon said, grinning.

“Didn’t you do all the work? Why don’t you try to be a thief, uncle? After all, you want to be pursued by the police?” said Seth.

“Oh, seriously…,” said Simon.

Seth made a quick run for his life. He was laughing.

“That boy is a nuisance,” Simon said, upset.