A Piffle Princess Story

TINAPAY NA, NAGING BATO PA

I was the resident-on-duty two nights ago. It was around 8pm, and I was on my way up to my room, when I passed by Nurse Station 1 and noticed a tall, lanky guy lurking around the nurses' table. When he saw me, he immediately turned around and walked up the ramp which led to the second floor. I took a peek to see if he has left, but I noticed that a man's shadow was still visible. The Station 1 Nurse came back from the wards, and I asked her if she knew that suspicious guy. She said she didn't know him. I told her I was gonna report the incident to our pharmacist, and left my bag, my bible, my tumbler, and some documents in the nurses' table.

It took me just a few minutes to describe the questionable person to our pharmacist, who promptly told our security guard. It kinda felt awkward to pass judgement on someone without any evidence, but I felt very uneasy about the whole thing. I headed back to Nurse Station 1 to get my things, and as I turned around the corridor, I saw the suspicious guy back at the nurses' table,
HIS HAND ON TOP OF MY BAG!!!

He stepped back when he saw me, and I hurriedly approached him, and with a loud voice asked what he was doing. He mumbled something incoherent, and then flipped through my documents, asking if a certain patient's papers were there. I felt my eyes grow big, and I instantly grabbed his left wrist and yelled, "Why are you touching my things!?!" He was taken aback, and he pulled back his arm, and started running towards the ramp. I ran after him, and screamed like mad, calling out our pharmacist's name. He stopped and turned around, and started requesting for me not to yell. He said he was in the hospital to visit a friend, and that he didn't do anything wrong. I asked him why he ran, and he retorted by saying that he freaked out when I grabbed his hand. I seized him by the wrist again, and told him that I was taking him to the Emergency Room.

By then a lot of people has gathered near the ER cos he was loudly protesting his innocence, while I was also shouting at him saying that I clearly saw his hands on top of my bag (though I was careful not to accuse him of anything). The guard took him to a chair just outside the ER entrance, and told him to calm down, telling him that if he was really innocent then he had nothing to worry about. The guy insisted that he was there to visit this certain patient, so we called down that patient's relative who confirmed that the suspicious guy was indeed their neighbor. By then I had already calmed down a bit and started to fret and feel guilty for putting the person in such an embarrassing situation. I went inside the ER, and realized that my hands were trembling. Our pharmacist approached me, and secretly told me that the patient's relative said that the guy was not trustworthy, so we were calling for police assistance. She was also going to check the CCTV to review the incident.

We probably detained the guy for almost 30minutes, cos the police took such a long time to arrive. By then I think the suspect realized that we called the authorities, and started to become agitated especially when the guard showed him a picture of a previous thief we caught on CCTV, who bore a striking similarity to his profile. Then at one point, the guard became distracted and busy attending to people coming in and out, and the suspect saw his chance. He rushed towards the main gate but was blocked by our ER nurse (who is a small, thin guy!). Realizing that he couldn't escape from there, he quickly rushed back towards the Nurse Station 1, towards the end of the hallway, and jumped out from the window (which was two-storeys high!). Our guard ran after him, but he was gone. The police arrived by then, but they were too late.

We assumed by then that he must have been guilty since he ran away. When we finally got to review the CCTV, he really did get something from the front compartment of my bag, which he immediately pocketed. He was about to go away, but he turned back cos he was aiming for the main compartment of my bag. That was when I caught him touching my bag, but he wasn't opening it so I couldn't accuse him of anything. Thinking back, I shouldn't have been so soft-hearted and should have immediately suspected him, cos a normal person won't go around touching other people's things. Anyway, we plan to file a case against him, cos we think he's the one who has been repeatedly stealing our nurses' cellphones. I rummaged through my bag and realized that I lost my 50-peso bill. Good thing I didn't have any valuables inside that bag, but the thought that a crook touched my things and that I actually caught him and even chased after him still freaks me out. Despite the fact that he escaped, I feel a sense of pride for what I did, but also know that it was a dangerous thing to do. A lot of people praised me for being so brave, but those same people also scolded me for being so stupid. Because of the adrenaline rush, it didn't cross my mind back then that he could have attacked me or even stabbed me or something. God was truly on my side at that time. Thank God none of us got hurt, and nothing valuable was lost.

I really hope he gets caught soon. The thought that he's just lurking around somewhere, waiting for his next chance, totally freaks me out. I pray that God will keep all of us, especially our staff and patients, safe from up-to-no-good people like him.