This incident happened back in my early teens. My mother and sister rushed to my school to ask if I had stolen the money in the cabinet, which was worth around two thousand pesos. This was probably about twenty years ago when the value of money was much higher compared to now.
Surprised, I told them that I hadn’t taken the money. However, they didn’t believe me, insisting that I was the only suspect since I was the only one who had left our home that day. They also questioned my younger sibling, who said he hadn’t stolen anything either.
I explained that I didn’t even know where the money was hidden and that I had never ventured into the room where it was kept, as I knew it was always locked.
After school, I often left the house to spend time at the arcade, either playing games or killing time. This habit of mine was what raised their suspicion.
I wasn’t exactly a model kid back then—I had a history of mischief—so I could understand why they would see me as the prime suspect when something went missing. Still, I told my mom and sister that we should discuss the matter at home, as the scene at school was embarrassing for me. They agreed.
At home, they confronted me again and advised me to return the money immediately. They told me it wasn’t even my sister’s money but belonged to someone else who had entrusted it to them for safekeeping. Once again, I insisted that I hadn’t stolen anything and hadn’t even gone near the room where the money was kept.
I asked if anyone else had been in the house that day who could testify against me, but they said there was no one.
Eventually, we let the issue pass since there was no concrete evidence to prove what had happened. However, a few days later, our father mentioned that one of my cousins had been in the house on the day the money disappeared. He recalled seeing her enter the room, but since he was busy with work, he hadn’t noticed if she took anything.
We didn’t confront my cousin, as there was no solid evidence, and we didn’t want to create conflict. Her parents were known for their sharp tongues, and we wanted to avoid a bigger mess. I didn’t say much either, except to reiterate that I wasn’t the one who had taken the money—I was genuinely trying to be a better person that year.
A few days later, we noticed that our cousin suddenly had a second-hand Nokia 3210. When asked, she claimed she had picked it up somewhere. However, her mother mentioned that it was actually pawned by someone with no intention of redeeming it.
Realizing this, we suspected they were accomplices. From that day forward, her family was subtly banned from our house. Whenever they visited, we kept a close eye on them to ensure nothing went missing again.