Gone Are The Rings

• Yuzhe Hu, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2021

It was a quiet morning in Bankstown. Everything was tranquil and quiescent except the sporadic chirping of birds. Mr Roberts, who owned an antique jewelry shop in an arcade, was just admiring a new window display, on which several dazzling diamond rings stood, surrounded by layers of black velvet. After gazing wistfully at the window for several minutes, Mr Roberts went back into the shop, satisfied at the mere thought of another profitable day.

The silence was broken by a jet black motorbike roaring down the arcade at a fantastic speed. It jolted to a holt right outside the jeweler’s. A man, dressed in identical black stockings from head to toe, jumped off and began hacking at the window, helping himself to the diamond rings. With him, he had brought a big leather bag for the loot.

At that time, Mr Roberts was upstairs with his assistant sipping a strong cup of tea. He started throwing furniture out of the window at the burglar. Cups, vases and chairs went whizzing out of the window. A metal statue hit the burglar, but he was too addicted to the diamonds to notice any pain.

Just as Mr Roberts rushed out of the shop, attempting to catch the burglar red-handed, the motorbike started to roar up the arcade again, with the burglar clinging tightly to the leather bag, which was now bulging with thousands of pounds worth of rings. Mr Roberts attempted to run after him, throwing ashtrays in despair, but it was too late. The motorbike sped away into the distance. To make things even worse, heavy rain had started and the wind was howling, putting Mr Roberts in a bedraggled condition.