A misunderstanding by Jessie

I will never forget that man who returned my wallet to me. That wallet was given to me by my best friend. I have not met her since university. She went back to her home country, Vietnam. She sent me a wallet made of embroidery silk on my birthday. It was from Vietnam and it had a hand-stitched picture of a bamboo plant. I treasured it so much as the wallet meant a lot to me.

That day, as I was walking home from work, I felt someone was following me. "Who could be following me?" I wondered, frightened. Sweat trickled down my forehead. Many questions appeared in my mind.

I was walking through a dark alley behind a row of shops. A stray cat was peeking into a fallen dustbin.

I slowly turned my head around to see who it was. A man in a striped shirt and a tie was following behind me. He had an evil grin spread across his face. Thinking of that evil grin made me shiver.

"Why is that man following me?" I wondered, panicked. My heart started pumping faster. I walked quickly and hoped that the man would stop following me.

I turned to see whether that man was still following me and he was! He was panting heavily like a dog. I started to run and that man also ran.

"Why won't that man get out of my way?" I wondered, panting like a dog too.

Finally, I could not take it anymore. "Why are you following me?" I shouted.

The man suddenly stopped in his tracks and took out something from his bag. I recognized the object he was holding immediately.

"Hey, isn't that wallet that you are holding? Why is it with you? I asked the man, puzzled.

"Yes,it is your wallet. You dropped it on the floor and you did not notice it so I picked it up and wanted to give it back to you. But once you saw me, you immediately started walking faster so I had to run after you," the man replied, catching his breath.

The man handed me my wallet. There wasn't a scratch on it. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for returning me my wallet. Sorry for all the trouble you had, "I smiled sheepishly.

"It's my pleasure to help you, Miss," the man replied, grinning.

I continued my walk home.

"Next time, I should not jump to any conclusions but I should be careful too," I thought.