It was a clear, crisp autumn morning, and the wind made my cheek\'s tingle pleas

Question

It was a clear, crisp autumn morning, and the wind made my cheek's tingle pleasantly as I walked briskly to my house. Pale sunlight shone through the bare branches of the trees lining the road, and fallen leaves moved and made a noise round my feet, while the smell of bonfires staying in the air brought back nostalgic memories of the weekend before. My contentment went away, however, the moment I reached home. A cold feeling of shock gripped me as I stared at the splintered, shattered wood of my front door. The lock hung, twisted out of shape, having been forced violently apart, and I felt my pulse quicken as I noticed that the door was ajar Scarcely breathing, I pushed it lightly with my fingertips and it swung open with the slightest groan. Inside, the house was deathly silent. I tiptoed down the hall, peering into the rooms on either side. They stared blankly at me, deserted and unchanged, revealing nothing There were no burglars still inside, or so it seemed. As far as I could see, there was nothing missing I heaved a sigh of relief at finding my precious collection of crystal untouched, and my heartbeat slowed as my initial shock subsided. Somebody has certainly broken in-but why? At the far end of the passageway I hesitated, puzzled, then cautiously claimed the stairs. As I neared the top, there was a rise; a light, hurried, scrabbling sound like one that mice might make, only coming from something rather bigger. I tired quickly towards my open bedroom door, only to be confronted by the strangest sight: an elderly man lying uncomfortably face-down on the floor, his plump, flushed cheek pressed against the carpet, which had been pulled back to reveal the floorboards underneath. There he was with his right arm thrust down into a gap between the boards. "What on earth are you doing?" I demanded He rolled himself slowly into a sitting position and ruffled his thinning hair, looking embarrassed, "I'm sorry," he mumbled, “ I used to live in this house and I put a box down here with my savings and some papers to keep them safe." He brushed thick dust and cobwebs of his shirt and sighed. "But when I moved out I forgot, and I did not know if you would let me have them. What else could I do?" I looked at his anxious face, and added, "I'm sure it will be all right." The elderly man, strode up to me and thrust out his hand, proposing a hand shake. Slowly making his way out of the front yard, the old man leant wearily on his walking stick and gazed happily towards the house where he and his wife had lived until her death. I stepped out in the warm moming air, still shaken by the terrifying experience but immensely thankful that it was over. I did not know what to think. I decided to walk the five miles to my mom's office, contemplating what had happened Works Cited: Virginia Evans. Successful Writing Proficiency. Special Edition ed, Express Publishing, 2004

Explanation / Answer

After contemplating for a considerable amount of time, I lamented over all that man can potentially do and all that man will do for something that they hold sacred in a given moment, at a given time. I could not bring myself to judge or even abhor the old man for I had been taught one thing by my mother, put yourself in others shoes and walk a little. Think and ponder over their choices, maybe you will understand them better.

The poor old man would have gone through all possibilities with respect to the nature of the current tenant, maybe they would deny him entry, or worse, use those documents for their benefit. It is the basic human tendency to not dwell - purposely at that - on the potential positive outcomes but on the negative ones. This man probably did the same, which made him ultimately resort to quite an outrageously bold step: breaking and entering.

I smiled a weak smile, maybe out of sympathy for the needs and cognition of the old man. He was fortunate for me not having called the police immediately at the sight of the destroyed door; his benign attempt would have been viewed as anything but that by the police and the society.  

I forgave him as I neared my moms office to reiterate to her the amusing incident that had taken place a while ago. It was necessary for me to not hold any grudges towards this old man in order to alleviate the inevitable dissonance of the potential danger that he could have posed, for he did teach me a vital lesson, which i would act on as soon as i reach home: I need a much better door and an alarm system for my house!

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