Pazzo and I were headed for Aberdeen to meet our mutual friend, Mark, on board a Double Decker. As Pazzo was busy clearing our fare, I took a seat at the back of the bus. But no sooner had I sat down, I was up again in a trice. Looking down, I realised that I had been sitting on a lady’s purse; probably left by one of the women who had just alighted.

In a complete dilemma about what to do next, I told about the purse to Pazzo. He grabbed it at once and ushered me up to the top Decker. There, we emptied the purse of its contents, all agog in anticipation. It contained, among other things, an identity card of a young Japanese lady who was pursuing her higher studies in Hong Kong.

Besides the lady’s credit cards and other documents, the purse also contained $550 in cash. Unemployed, hard up on cash, and literally begging for paltry sums at the time, my conscience wavered. Pazzo gave in as well. The two of us ended up splitting the sum. There was no going back. I was an accomplice to a terrible crime.

Till that fated day, I never knew I could descend to such despicable depths. Never imagined I would ever come across such a situation, either. There is always the first time for

everything, I guess.

That was the first time I understood how easy it is to give in to human temptations; how easy it is to fall prey to lust for lucre; how our conscience takes a back seat once greed sets in.

We later handed over the purse (of course, devoid of cash) to the bus driver. He ensured us to turn it over to the local police, who, he was sure, would find its rightful owner: the young Japanese lass.

In my hopeless bid to sooth my conscience, I reasoned that though she would not get back her cash, she would be happy to recover her all-important documents and credit cards. It was only a temporary relief though. The insurmountable guilt was sinking in.

By the time we were in Aberdeen, I was already beginning to curse myself for giving in to such base temptations.

Was it evil that compelled me to such a deed, or are humans predisposed to err in the face of temptations, I could not decide. I still can’t. Either way, I pray to God not to put me in such trying situations again.