The Pickpocket and his Mother (for Silvery_Lady)
 

Amir walked down the bustling streets of the city, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the marketplace.
He loved being out and about on days like this, amongst the hustle and bustle. Everything seemed so vibrant and full of life. Shopkeepers and customers were haggling, children were running around, traders from all over were coming in to sell their goods in huge sacks, leading their camels as they tried to get through the thronging crowds.

As well as the lively atmosphere, Amir loved market days for another, more practical reason too.
Amir was a pickpocket, a petty thief, and market days were the best days for him to do what he did best. People were so busy and caught up in their shopping that he had never once been caught on a market day. He was skilled anyway, but even a rank amateur could pick a pocket or two on days like this if they had the confidence and picked out the right target.

Amir walked casually from stall to stall, pretending to consider various fruits and vegetables as his nimble hands expertly took what they wanted from other unsuspecting men and women.

While this behaviour was certainly not commendable in any way, Amir was not actually a bad person. He was certainly mischievous, and he had no qualms with taking some coins from someone instead of earning those coins himself through hard work, but he wasn't cruel or vindictive. He could be hotheaded and a little selfish perhaps, he could never turn down a challenge (that had gotten him into more trouble than his stealing, if he was honest) and he tended not to think things through as much as he should have. But he was charming. At nineteen, he was quite a handsome young man. He was wiry and with a good head of dark hair and attractive dark brown eyes that were very expressive. He could charm his way out of a fair portion of the trouble he sometimes found himself in, as long as his mother wasn't involved. She was very rarely ever fooled, so Amir made sure to always do his pickpocketing and other mischief at the market that was a bit further away from his house- so he could avoid getting caught by his sharp mother.

Sadly for the young thief, on that particular day his strict mother was also in that part of the city, delivering a small carpet she had made for the wife of a wealthy merchant...something that Amir could have known, if he had at least took the time to ask to his mom how their little family business was going, lately.
But since the boy was always running away from their house, to avoid any kind of work she could have asked him to do, he wasn't aware of her presence at the market.

When the woman walked out from from the merchant's home, she took a deep breath and she covered her eyes with her hand, because the sun was really bright, that morning.
She smiled, starting to walk down the street; Jazeera loved the smell of spices and the busy atmosphere of the market days...her son had took that side of his personality from her, there was no doubt about it.
She was a pretty woman and, even at her age, she was still attracting male glances of admiration quite often, with her long hair, black as the night sky and her eyes, green as emeralds.
So she didn't paid attention to the man who whistled at her, while passing in front of one of the many little taverns along the road.
She was wearing some of her most gaudy clothes, that day, a long and wide red skirt and white shirt with flowy sleeves, and her slender figure was emphasised by her gracious movements.

Anyway, a minute after, she turned the corner and she found herself staring at her son, in the middle of the crowd, recognizing him immediately even if he was showing his back to her...and noticing how his hand was reaching for the pocket of the fat man over him.
Jazeera frowned deeply, speeding up toward the teen.
Once she had reached him, her hand moved quickly as as snake on the sand, grabbing him tightly by one ear and pulling him down a bit.
-Someday i will call the guards myself, i swear.- she almost growled at him.

Amir was quite content until his mother found him, blissfully unaware that she was anywhere near the area. It was true, he wasn't the most dutiful son. He had no brothers or sisters, yet he showed no interest in his mother's business or working with her. He was the type of young man who was easily bored and so, despite her encouragement and nagging, he would barely do the absolute minimum of what she asked of him.

His hand had almost lifted the fat man's coin purse from his pocket when he sudden felt a familiar sharp pain in his ear and was forcibly yanked away from his prize.

"Oww! Mother!" He complained, knowing it was her before he even saw her. No one else had her grip.

The fat man who had nearly been robbed turned around in surprise at the sudden drama happening beside him. "What is this?" He demanded at the sight before him. "Were you trying to rob me?!"

Amir groaned, squirming in his mother's grasp and ignoring the fat man for now. He was much more concerned with his mother. It was just his luck that she would be here. He'd been so careful too...

When the young man turned his face to see her, she gave him one murderous look, silently promising him some kind of unpleasant consequence.
But at the other man question, she was fast to respond, while literally dragging the boy away like a dog on the leash.
-He just ran away from home, sir. I will deal with him, your belongings are still in your pockets.- she told him, before disappearing among the crowd with her son, to avoid him an encounter with the city guards, despite her previous threat.
She didn't want him to be arrested or worse, of course.
But she was also tired of his behaviour.

As soon as the fat man was far enough, she gave another harsh tug at Amir's ear, leading him toward home.
-I'm sick and tired of this!- she scolded him sternly -How many times do we have to have this conversation, Amir? You know what is the punishment for thievery! Do you want your hands to be cut off, you stupid child?!- his mother went on, muttering to herself a few curses -This time i will give a lesson you won't forget any soon, trust me. You will stay grounded for so long that you will forget the colour of the sky.- she promised him.

So, after a few minutes, they reached their humble little home, and she finally let him go, while opening the wooden door.
-Get in this instant, you rascal.- was the last order -And empty your pockets on the table, right now.-

Amir groaned as she dragged him by the ear, he knew better than to bat her hands away and run for it. Although he had done that several times in the past, particularly when he had been younger.
He had eventually learned the hard way that that was not a smart idea.

As she lectured him on their way home he found himself rolling his eyes despite himself. While he knew his mother was not to be taken lightly, he felt like he had heard it all before. Amir was not particularly skilled at learning from his mistakes and so sometimes it felt like half the time she spoke to him she was scolding him for one transgression or another.
"I've never been caught by the guards," he pointed out a little cheekily as she reminded him that thieves could have their hands chopped off.
He wondered how long she intended to ground him for. She would hopefully let her guard down after a few days, and he could escape out of one of the windows or their back door while she was distracted with work. Already Amir's cunning brain was thinking of ways out of his punishment.

"Fine, fine..." Amir rubbed his ear at the spot she had been gripping onto, wincing a little. He took his time, not keen to show her his haul. He knew what her reaction would be.

Reluctantly he emptied his deep pockets, a sizeable pile of gold coins and the like being put onto the table in front of her.

-That's pure luck and nothing more. Don't brag about it.- his mother rebuked him when he told her about the guards -Do you think that you are smarter than anyone else, do you? One day or another, they will catch you, Amir...and then you will have to face much harder consequences than a few swats on your backside from me.-

Once inside the house, Jazeera bolted the door and then proceeded to check on what he had stole during the morning.
The woman gave a look at the coins on the table and sighed in resignation, looking a bit defeated.
-Is that all? Don't make me check your clothes personally. You know that i will, if i have the suspect that you are hiding something from me, child...- she said and she was meaning it -You are not keeping that money, not even one coin. I can't return it, because i don't know who the owner is, but i will use it to pay food. Is that clear?-

Anyway, once settled that he was not going to enjoy the product of his hard "work", his mother crossed the arms over her chest and she stared at him like if she was about to eat him alive.
Then, she gave him one last order.
-Go to the garden and fetch me a switch.- she told him, sharply -Now.-

When his mother asked him if that was all, Amir hesitated then with a sigh of defeat he took out a last handful of gold coins.
He had been complacent to think he could keep them, his mother would have definitely found them even if he hadn't brought them out on his own free will.

"A switch? Mother please..." Amir looked at her with his big, expressive eyes, appealing to any softness in her. Although he knew that it was futile, he had to try. Cutting his own switch was the worst. Not only did it sting when it was used on him, the process of actually having to fetch one himself made his stomach sink.

He'd never known his mother to go easy on him because he'd made sure to act suitably remorseful. If she was another woman she might be tempted to go soft on him, but she knew him too well to be fooled. Raising him single handedly had left her well versed in all of his tricks.

Jazeera rolled her eyes at the ceiling when he revealed that he was hiding a few more coins, adding them at the small hoard on the table.
-I knew it...- she muttered.
It was always the same old story.

When the teen tried to protest against his upcoming punishment, his mother simply gave him one glance, full of reproach and disappointment.
It wasn't just a look, it was "The Look".
The one that all mothers around the world know how to do when their children have crossed the line and when there is no turning back.

She raised a hand, pointing out at the back door with her index finger.
-Don't you "please" me now, young man. You should have thought about this before goofing around like always...and no Puppy Eyes.- she told him, her voice cold as ice -You better obey me and do it quickly.- she concluded.
Apparently she wasn't buying his attempt of walking out of chastisement, not this time.

Amir let out a groan as she glared at him and remained unmoved by his pleas.

The young man opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn't think of any words that would help his case. Very reluctantly, he sighed deeply, took a knife that he could cut the switch with and walked into their backyard.

She had told him to be quick, but all the same Amir was in no rush. It might have just been postponing the inevitable, but he wasn't exactly eager.
It had been a while since he'd had to do this. He knew that she'd just send him back out to get another one is he brought back one that was too thin or brittle. She'd probably go harder on him as well if he tried that.

Amir squatted down on the ground, beginning to cut off a switch, letting each sawing movement of the knife take its time.

His mother stood there, waiting for him to do what she had ordered him...but when she realized that he was clearly postponing his smacking by cutting that switch slower than a sloth, she made her voice sound all over the place.
-You better move, smartass. Or i will make you cut a bunch of them, got it?- she called for him -Don't push me, i'm already angry enough, don't you think?-

So, Jazeera waited for the kid to come back, welcoming him with her open hand, ready to grab the fresh cut switch.
-Fine. Now....you will get a warm backside for running away instead of helping me out, like you should, and a red hand palm to match your bottom, for stealing again.- the woman announced to him, severely.
-And i will not change my mind about it, so don't start to beg.- she warned the boy, before walking to one of the stools in the room, lifting her leg and laying her foot on it -Come over here and bend over, Amir.-