Narrative Viewpoint Lesson 1

From the viewpoint of the burglar

Evangeline put down her pen and leaned back in her chair. She could hear the drip-drip-drip of the rain in the drainpipe that ran down the length of the corner of the house where her office was located. The kettle was beginning to boil in the kitchen and the clock on the shelf to her right was ticking away the minutes. It was way past sundown and she could see only dark through the window above her desk. It had been raining most of the day, washing away some of the mounds of snow that lay around her home and creating puddles and ice everywhere. Her driveway was glassy and very treacherous. She’d salted it earlier in the day to make sure that anyone coming to her home would not slip.

What would she do now? Darkness was her favourite time to work. It was a time when things could be done that no one would see until the morning. But there was a wrinkle in her plans for this evening, a new element she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. 

She swiveled her chair around to face the door, rose, and crossed the hallway to her bedroom. It was a little warmer tonight than it had been for the previous two weeks. She was behind in her work and she needed to get going.

Evangeline opened the door to her closet, reached for the second shelf, and pulled out the black clothes that were tucked behind the bright sweaters of green, blue and red – leggings, t-shirt, socks, toque, and scarf. Now dressed, she headed back to the hall and turned left to the staircase. Seven steps down, turn left, seven more steps to the basement. Into the coatroom to find her keys, black coat, runners, and the spikes for walking on ice.

She knew her way around the neighborhood and people knew her face from her morning walks. It was such a lovely unsuspecting place to live. If her neighbors only knew…

Out the door, through the garage, and into her yard. She preferred leaving this way at night. She would rather her neighbors still thought that she was at home. Her back yard had a good neighbor fence surrounding it, but she had made sure to create a couple of moveable pieces in the fence so she had different places from which to enter and exit. Tonight, she found the one behind the shed and slipped through into the back yard of her neighbor and then over the fence into the second neighbour’s yard. And then into the alley. She was quick and agile, her dance training making her strong and flexible. She loved this part the best, seeking out the place she had seen on one of her many walks. Close, but not too close to her home. She was good at what she did and she was very, very careful.

Two streets over, she found the place she was looking for. She approached the home through the backyard, easily climbing the small fence. She had been observing this place for weeks, walking by at all hours, making sure there was no motion light or dog to create an alarm. The family was away. It was school break and she had chatted with the homeowner just this morning while the family was packing up for their trip. They were off skiing this week and the place would be unmanned. One more thing to check – was there any indication that they had a security alarm? There were no signs on the windows or doors indicating such, but she was careful. At the back door, she checked under the welcome mat. Was there a key there? In the mailbox, under the front door mat, in or under the planter that contained Christmas greenery? Ahh, she found it. Inside the plant pot at the back door, which always held beautiful geraniums in the summer. It had a few cedar boughs in it and a small plastic bottle with the key inside. Some people just were so naive. 

With her spikes in her left hand and a quick click of the lock, she was in. There was no indication of an alarm, no security system to turn off. She would be quick and they would never know.

Off came her shoes. There would be no tell-tale footprints from her. Up the 3 steps into the kitchen, and down the hall Evangeline went. She knew the most likely place for cash or jewelry lay in the bedroom, so that’s where she headed. The first door on the right was a child’s room, the door on the left was the bathroom, another child’s room on the right, and the master bedroom on the left. This was so easy!  The homeowners had left everything so neat. A jewelry box on the dresser, keys, and earrings in trays. She opened the drawers of the dresser, scanning quickly for things she wanted. She didn’t want to disturb anything, just remove what was easy and be gone. Drawers one, two, and three yielded nothing, but drawer four was a gold mine. Envelopes, papers, documents all were within easy reach. Her gloved hands were quick, flipping through the paper without disturbing anything. Aha! A long brown envelope, as she had in her safety deposit box at the bank, was tucked under other sheets of paper. A quick look gave her what she needed – bills of many colours! Drawers closed, doors left the way they were, and back she went through the kitchen to the back door. She was done and they would never know. But she always liked to leave a memento of her visit. This time it was a small plastic flower in the flower pot by the door.

Tonight was really no different from all of her other nights, just easier. It was tempting to become lax in her movements, but Evangeline knew that would be a terrible risk, the consequences of which she was not interested in experiencing. Lately, she had become a little more nostalgic about the early years of her ‘job’, when she had been a bit more cavalier about her role in the broader scheme of things. She was a little older, perhaps a little wiser (but not much), and a little more involved in the ongoings of her community. She was starting to get to know her neighbours and that’s where the difficulty lay. She was becoming attached to her surroundings and getting soft. She couldn’t afford to have a conscience. She didn’t need the things she was taking. It was really only a challenge for her, but not a necessity any longer. Shaking her head, she returned home the long way, removing her toque to let her long auburn hair swing free and putting on the reflective armbands she wore when she wanted to be noticed. She must be seen as the friendly neighbour out for a late-night walk, not as someone who broke into homes for fun.

From the viewpoint of the homeowner

“Ahhh, it’s so good to be home!” Daniel helped his wife Susan carry the suitcases into the house. The kids had already run ahead, unlocking the back door and carrying their backpacks into the house.

The time away skiing had been so good for all of them. It was a great family vacation, with no work beckoning them, no laundry or grocery shopping or bills to pay or homework to be done – just family time. And lots of it. It wasn’t very often that they had a chance just to let loose and enjoy themselves and it felt so good. But it was also great to be home. Their beds would feel extra comfy and familiar tonight. 

Suddenly Becky came running back to them. “Mom, Dad, look what I found in the planter when I was getting the house key – a plastic flower! Did you put it there?”

Becky was their observant child, the one who spotted a book put on a different shelf, a visitor’s shoes near the front door, a new bird in their backyard. They could count on her to see things that they missed or to spot things they were trying to hide.

Daniel and Susan looked at each other – “No I didn’t, did you?” “Not me”. “Hmmm, I wonder where it’s from?” “Maybe one of your friends left it Becky?” “Maybe Anna left it when she came to water the plants?”

“It wasn’t there when we left” Becky answered. “I know because I was the one who locked the back door before we left and then Dad checked to make sure I had done it. And why would Anna leave something like that?”

“I’m sure it’s nothing Beck” answered Daniel. “Let’s finished getting unloaded and we’ll think about it”.

As soon as Daniel entered the house, he sensed something. Nothing was out of place, nothing else attracted his attention, but something was off. And somewhere in the back of his mind, Daniel knew that something had happened when they were away.

Two days later, everyone was back in their routine. The kids were in school, Susan was back at her job and Daniel was working from home. Working from home definitely had its advantages – no commute, no need for business wear, and the freedom to work in his happy place, the kitchen. Daniel was a chef, creating delectable treats that he was able to share on his online forum. And the recipes were becoming part of his soon-to-be first edition cookbook. His family didn’t mind at all. They were the first ones to sample his creations and to vote whether or not they should make the cut.

Today was sticky bun Monday. He was perfecting these wonderful cinnamon buns and he needed more butter from the freezer. Down the three steps he went, and into the mudroom where the upright freezer was. He was opening the door of the freezer and reaching for the butter when it hit him. He finally remembered what had been niggling at the back of his mind during the past weekend. The plastic flower! He’d heard that had been the calling card of a cat burglar in some of the neighbourhoods of a nearby city. A small plastic item. Nothing else. But eventually, something was revealed to be missing in the homes where the item had appeared. Daniel’s heartbeat suddenly sped up. What was the most valuable, most important thing in their home? “No, no, NO!” He ran up the stairs and down the hall to his and his wife’s bedroom. A quick glance showed nothing out of the ordinary, nothing moved or taken. Susan had not mentioned any of her jewellery missing and she knew the pieces she owned.

Daniel’s mouth felt dry and his breath was coming in short, loud gasps. The drawer! The place where most of their earthly treasures were kept. He took a deep breath to try to steady his hands and let them move slowly and deliberately through the drawer. Gently, so as not to disturb anything, Daniel lifted the sheets and envelopes, carefully checking each one. How many times had he thought “these should go to the bank” and then thought ‘someday’. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Had anything been taken?

He almost missed it.

A tiny slip of pink paper, with a simple drawing of a flower, and the words, You really should be more careful.