An old woman observes a daylight robbery that leaves a child in tears, and she quickly reacts, using her unassuming disposition to fool the thieves into a trap.
Isabel Gaines feared no one. She was 73 and was a baker who loved making cakes above any other thing. The old woman was content with her lot in life and never complained about anything.
All of her baking was done at her home, and she proudly delivered her cake to a mall cafe in a neighboring district. They didn’t pay her a lot, and she didn’t have a lot of money; however, Isabel did not mind.
She was happy with the little she was earning, and she made sure to make it all count. Every day, the old woman would wake up happy and grateful for getting another day to enjoy her hobby — one that started out as a coping mechanism after she lost her husband, Terrence.
He had been the love of her life, and she had never properly moved on from his demise, choosing instead to keep mourning him until she drew her last breath.
She had loved baking before the incident, but after his death, she had turned to it fully, pouring all her emotions into the beautiful little cakes she baked.
One day, Isabel finished baking a set of pink cupcakes as requested by the cafe she was supplying, and she left her home to take it there. It was a sunny afternoon, so she decided she would ride a bus to the cafe rather than ride her bike as she usually did.
She had loved baking before the incident, but after her husband’s death, she had turned to it fully, pouring all her emotions into the beautiful little cakes she baked | Source: Pexels
She had all the cupcakes in two bags she could easily lift and set off for the bus stop. While she waited, she caught sight of a tall menacing man walking towards a young boy.
They started talking, and Isabel was starting to think they were acquaintances when she saw another man, a shorter, slimmer one, take a mobile phone out of the boy’s back.
After the other man slipped the phone, he gave the taller one the signal so that he quickly rounded up his chat with the boy, and they left like nothing had just happened.
Isabel knew what had happened, but the teenage boy was completely clueless, and as soon as the men left him, he started walking in the opposite direction.
Isabel knew it would be too late if the men disappeared in the throng of people commuting to work, and she feared that the two rascals would get away with it, so as they walked past her, she called out to them.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You both look very strong. Could you help me bring these bags to my house? I live on the next street and I will pay you well for the help!”
The men exchanged a look, but they agreed to help. Their thievery had paid off, but they didn’t mind earning decent money on the side as well.
They both grabbed one bag each and followed Isabel as she led them to her home. Upon their arrival, she begged them to take the cakes down to her basement.
“My knees can’t take those steep stairs all the time,” she lied. The men grumbled about how it was not a part of the plan, but they quickly took it down into the dark area. “Hey, can you get the lights?” they asked her.
They expected an answer, but when they didn’t get one, they turned around and noticed the woman standing alone at the top of the staircase leading down to the basement.
Then, right before their eyes, the woman turned around, slammed the door shut, and locked it with a key, taking all the light with her.
It scared the two men, and they pounded at the door, begging to be released. While they lamented, Isabel called the police and ran outdoors to wait for them.
Meanwhile, on the other street, Isabel could hear a noise as the people got sensitized to the wailing of the boy who lost his phone.
She waited for 30 minutes, and when the police arrived, she took them to where the men were trapped, and they were arrested. “What did we ever do to you?” one of the men asked her before the cops hauled them off.
“It was not me you hurt but that young boy whose phone you swiped! You both should be ashamed of yourselves, tricking and stealing from a boy less than half your age!”
Her words had them chastised, and Isabel was allowed to take the phone from them and return it to the boy who had still been in a panic. “Try not to be so careless next time,” she told him. “That nasty-looking man you spoke to and his friend took it. Try not to talk to strangers, okay?” The boy nodded.
The boy’s parents turned out to be quite rich people who coincidentally were about to open their own coffee shop. After hearing of Isabel’s heroic feat, they offered her work as a baker in their cafe, and she gladly agreed.
Within the first few months, Isabel was earning even more money, and she spent it on herself and her hobby.
What did we gain from this story?
Quick thinking is an essential tool. The two men who swiped the teenager’s phone would have definitely gotten away with it if it had not been for Isabel’s quick thinking. She was able to use it to craft and execute her plan flawlessly.
Don’t look the other way. It is possible Isabel was not the only person who saw the boy get robbed; however, other people must have turned their heads, saying it did not concern them. Luckily for the boy, Isabel chose not to look away, and she was able to save the boy and get rewarded.
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