Bernadett Sági
David woke up in the morning still extremely tired from the previous day. He could barely crawl out of his bed but finally succeeded somehow. He just stood in the middle of his room for minutes, with his eyes closed, trying to put the things in his head together. Yesterday was one of his worst days, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He shook his head, attempting to sweep all the second thoughts out of it. He had gone through so much worse in his life, so he had to get through this as well. He had no other choice. He opened his eyes and stepped out of the bedroom. He looked around in his small apartment, trying to decide how to start his morning. David had lived here on his own for years, trying to make a living, but barely could pay his rent. The sky was still grayish outside, the sun hadn’t risen yet and everything was covered in silence. David loved this time of the day. He always woke up early so he could start his mornings without anybody interrupting him. He decided to go to the park for his usual walk before worrying about the things he had to take care of that day. By the time he put on his suit for work and got down to the street, it was already brighter outside. He made his way to the nearby park with a newspaper in his hand, breathing in the morning air. After a few minutes he arrived at his nearly empty destination. Wandering around the trees and bushes, he searched for his bench while swinging the papers in his hand. When David finally found it he sat down, let out a sigh and spread out the newspaper on his lap. He ran through some articles whose reliability was questionable, but then a writing caught his eyes. It was about a bank robbery that had happened the previous afternoon. David furrowed his brows while reading. There was also a picture of said building next to the article. Arrest after large amount of money stolen in an aggravated burglary. – said the title. He started to feel sick. That bank was just a few streets away from his flat. Aggravated burglary. How can a person do that – risking innocent people’s lives? Someone he knew could have been hurt. He turned to the next page where the article continued. By the time the cops arrived, the perpetrator had got away with a bag of money. Then David’s eyes skipped to the picture under the paragraph. He froze. It was a facial composite of the possible suspect. He started to examine it. He has seen those eyes and nose before. David recognized the man in the picture and was totally shocked. He knew this guy. He always thought that he would have a bright future ahead of him. He would have never thought… Looking up from the newspapers he had so many questions in his head. What could have happened that led him to do something like that? Could he have changed that much through the years? His train of thought was interrupted by the time. He had to go to work. David stood up, folded the newspaper and headed out of the park. The city had woken up and the streets had begun to fill up while he was “away.” On his way, staring at the toes of his shoes, David was still thinking about the article. A thought crawling into his mind made him stop in the middle of the street. What should he do with the information he has? Should he go to the police and report this guy? He did what he did and he deserves to be punished for that. Or doesn’t he? David hesitated. He knows him and he is not a bad person; or at least he wasn’t before. Maybe he had a rational reason for what he did. Is there such an acceptable reason at all? If he reports him now, then it can destroy his life forever. Does David really want that for him? David was a good-natured person all his life. He thought that despite his mistakes he always did the right thing. But now he was totally clueless. Would it be the right choice to go to the police? David thought so. But the next second he changed his mind again. He already had so many problems in his life to deal with. Did he want to be involved in such a case? He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to clear his head. He let out a long sigh and slowly took a step forward. And then another. David continued on his way into the city, still not sure if he had made the right decision. Now that he had calmed down a bit, he looked up at the buildings he knew very well as he always went on the same path every morning. He watched the people getting in their cars. Many were walking with coffees in their hands, not ready for the day yet. David loved it here, but when he was younger he imagined his future quite differently. He had many dreams back then, but life got in the way. David looked up at the sky and suddenly stopped. He dropped the newspaper in the closest trash can and then started walking down the street in the other direction. He hesitated but stepped into the building and went up the stairs. David was at his apartment. He rushed into his room and opened the closet searching for something. When he found it he made his way down the stairs and within seconds was on the streets again. He quickened his steps towards the station. David looked down at the bag in his hands and knew that he had made the right choice. He had to get out of the city before anyone else recognized his face from the newspaper.