"What makes you think my child took it?"
"You owe my child an apology for accusing them!"
Child's Mom grew more and more angry as she spoke.
Her words carried a forceful, emphatic conviction.
The shopkeeper was taken aback.
When he recovered, he grew angry too. "Of course I have my reasons!"
"I'm not someone who accuses people without cause."
"With so much fruit piled together, nobody would notice if one or two pieces went missing..."
"Love?"
The shopkeeper was at a loss for words.
You went along with the child's words.
He hadn't had time to fix it yet.
How long could it take to eat an apple?
Every word from Child's Mom carried a sharp, pressing edge. "If you want one, I'll buy you a bag."
"Exactly."
"So what makes you think this child took your apple?"
"You don't have any!"
Who knew something would come up that required the security footage...
If the child had been hiding something on them, surely there'd be a noticeable bulge.
"The child doesn't have an apple on them."
"Enough."
The crowd was confused.
The shopkeeper raised his voice.
Now...
"How could I have had time to eat the apple?"
The crowd erupted into a commotion.
"Isn't the situation obvious?"
The shopkeeper protested his innocence.
"Mom."
"Are you charging me?"
"...Maybe the conflict escalated too quickly..."
"Then what else do you have to say?"
"The shopkeeper caught the child before they'd even fully left the stall..."
It wasn't winter, after all.
The shopkeeper blurted out, "I was keeping my eyes on them the whole time."
"Let alone hiding the apple."
"Wouldn't everything be clear if we just checked the surveillance footage?"
"You scared my child."
The shopkeeper nodded. "That's why I put it right at the very