Today I was asked to be a witness at a Nubian/Muslim wedding. It was a beautiful experience watching two dear friends vow to dedicate their lives to each other. After the ceremony, we headed to their home to enjoy a Nubian feast where we got to meet the bride and groom’s extended family. As I sat with the bride, a mutual friend came in, greeted us and sat next to me. As we began to chat, I glanced over at her earrings and realized they were the pearl earrings my father gave me for my 30th birthday last year in Italy. I suddenly had a flashback of the friend’s attendance at a get-together held at my house a year prior. Not wanting to make a scene since the bride was sitting on my other side; I asked her quietly where she got her earrings. She smiled and replied, “They’re yours.” “No shit, Sherlock,” I thought, but replied with guarded annoyance, “those were a gift to me by father, you need to give those back to me.” She laughed and assented, but made no effort to actually do so. “How about you give them to me now, dear, otherwise we might forget.” She handed them to my nonchalantly. This is a girl who has seemingly been so sweet to me for the past 2 years or so I’ve known her, only to steal from me without any apparent guilt! I was shocked, but again, I didn’t want to ruin my other friend’s wedding day. I looked down in awkward silence and saw that she was also wearing my tank top, gold bracelet given to me by mother and a ring given to me by my best friend in the States! I felt like screaming! “What give, girl, practically everything you have on is mine!” She laughed again as if it were a joke, to which I could only look at her flabbergasted for several awkward moments before taking off the bracelet and ring myself. Nooo, I didn’t take off the tank top too! Perhaps I should have though? To leave her naked and shamed? Nah that would have been too harsh. Something in her head must have clicked at that moment b/c she decided to make a half-hearted apology. “Sorry, Amity. I won’t do it again.” “Bullshit,” I thought bitterly, but me being me, replied “<name>, you really shouldn’t steal from people. Now I can’t trust you anymore.” I would have gone on, but my eyes started welling up so I cut the lecture short and looked away, proceeding to ignore her for the remaining time I was obliged to sit next to her.
How do people think that stealing is OK, especially from people they are so outwardly friendly to? I don't get such superficial people. If I did something like steal ONCE, let alone repeatedly, I'd be sleepless with guilt and shame.
