Making Amends #1

This one goes out to a certain David from Rosyth 6-06. Although this incident may barely register a bleep in the recesses of his mind, I still remember the incident like it was yesterday and there are nights I still toss and turn in bed thinking about it.

I was at the peak of my (short-lived) career as a magician, proudly displaying my skills to anybody who would be so bold as to surrender a coin to me and to watch it disappear before their very eyes, only to gasp in amazement as I brought it back again. David was one of them. Little did I know the trouble which would ensue.

So I was doing the usual routine and after my performance, placed the coin back on the table to thunderous applause. As I said, nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual routine. Moments later, he came up to me, demanding his coin back. I looked at the table and the coin was no longer there. The phrase that came up next I have never forgotten. "I saw you POCKET the coin!"

I checked my pockets, the breast pocket first as that was where I usually kept my loose change. I even dipped my hand, with difficulty, into my back pocket, which I rarely used. Nope, no coin. A heated argument ensued. I tried everything to prove my innocence, pulled in witnesses, emptied my belongings, calling him a dirty liar, but he still insisted that I had POCKETED the coin.

I was confused and puzzled, since I had no idea what had happened to the coin and how could he have seen me POCKET the coin, when I myself did not. (really, I didn't) What's more, I was now condemned as a thief for the first time in my life. Seeking justice, I decided to bring the matter up to a higher authority: Mr. Siva Kumar Menon, Form Teacher. I pleaded innocence while David consistently claimed that I POCKETED the coin.

Good old Siva told us to stop bickering and go back to our seats. That was it. No jury, no witnesses, no crime scene examinations. Not even a lie test. I was never proved innocent, David never got his coin back, the thief probably still at large this very day.

And so David, although you may never read this, I sincerely apologise for the trouble I caused and understand the distress you must have been going through over your loss. Believe me, If I had one opportunity to go back in time, I would use it to deliver the coin safely into your hands after performing my feat. Till today, I still claim innocence and I hope that perhaps one day, you will accept my word as truth and forgive me.

The object that started it all.