She couldn't help herself. The compulsion to steal was just too strong. Maria was trying to break herself of the unsavory habit, but it was slow going. She was walking down the street, wondering how to rid herself of this strange addiction, when the golden gleam caught her eye. All other thoughts left her mind as she focused on the ring intently. It was a thick gold band with an emerald proudly centered on it, safeguarded on both sides with perfectly shaped diamonds. This beautiful wonder was fixed firmly on the plump finger of an old woman. Quickly making up her mind, Maria angled her body so that the duo's path’s would cross. Maria was two feet in front of the woman when she tripped. As Maria fell, she reached out and grasped the woman’s hand, attempting to stop her fall. The ring slid smoothly off the woman’s finger, and Maria had it pocketed before she hit the ground.

“Oh my! Are you okay, dear?” the woman gasped, her hand fluttering to her chest.

“I’m fine! It was nothing,” Maria replied with a smile. She then quickly turned the other direction and scurried home, her hand securely wrapped around the ring in her pocket. When she arrived at her house Maria went directly to her backyard. There a willow tree stood proudly in the corner of the yard, seeming to oversee the whole home. Underneath the tree was a patch of ground that looked like it had been dug up many times before. The girl carefully scratched off the top few inches of soil, revealing a shoe box. The box was gingerly removed, then opened. Inside were all of Maria’s treasures that she had stolen over the years. With a satisfied grin on her face, Maria placed the ring in the container and then buried it once again. Then she went inside and started working on her homework.

Maria woke up the next day with a peculiar prickling feeling tingling on the back of her neck. Maria was sure that she was being watched. Shaking off her jitters, she quickly got ready for high school. Once she was ready she walked out the front door, securely locking it behind her. Then she trudged off to school. All through the day Maria felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t that she was sick; she felt nervous. She had collywobbles, her hands felt clammy, and the prickling feeling on her neck continued. After school Maria scurried home, desiring the safety of a familiar place. As she walked up the steps to her house Maria just got more nervous. Maria hastily opened the front door and shut it behind her. As she turned to lock the door a horrible thought occurred to her. She had locked the door when she left for school, but it was unlocked when she got home. Dread washed over her in waves. Was somebody in the house?

Knowing it was stupid, but not able to resist, Maria ventured further into the house. She slowly advanced, searching each room for a sign that anything was amiss. Once she had cleared every area in the house she headed towards her own room. As she climbed the stairs, Maria spotted a spider on the ground. She let out a little squeak of fear, and then hopped backwards a few steps. Maria stood there for a few seconds then mentally chided herself, steeled her nerves, and rushed past the spider. Her muscles relaxed as she stepped into her room; she was instantly less nervous. As she turned to sit down on her bed all of the tension slammed back into her body. On the wall above her bed sat six spiders. Maria grimaced and then whipped around to leave. Her progress was halted by the sight of six more spiders behind her. She groaned and then turned back. Somehow, in the short period of time it took her to turn, more spiders had appeared on the wall. There were too many to count at this point.

This was Maria’s worst fear. She absolutely could not stand spiders. She started to tremble and tears built up in the back of her throat. More and more spiders emerged and she was promptly surrounded by them. A creaking noise from the hallway outside her bedroom distracted Maria. It sounded like somebody was gradually making their way towards her room.

“Hello?” Maria called out, her voice shaking. There was no reply. The footsteps creeped closer. When they reached Maria’s bedroom door they stopped, then the door slowly inched its way open. In the doorway stood a man. He was tall and he looked sort of stretched, like the height was pulled into him. The man was really pale, and his black suit and fedora offset this in a stunning way. His eyes, though, were what really caught Maria’s attention. They were the lightest silver color, the iris barely a shade darker than the whites of his eyes, and they had a malicious gleam in them. A dark sneer slowly crawled onto his face as he observed her terrified expression.

“Who are you?” stuttered Maria. A smirk was her only reply. The man’s sinister gaze then turned towards the spiders. He made a strange hissing noise. Almost instantaneously the spiders rushed towards Maria. They crawled their way up her body, clinging to her despite her wild thrashing. Maria shrieked loudly, but as the spiders neared her face she clamped her jaw shut to prevent them from climbing in her mouth. The man hissed again, and the spiders’ progress halted abruptly.

“Confess your sins and this will stop,” the man instructed, turning his eyes to Maria. His voice sounded like the rustling of autumn leaves: dry and dead. Too scared to move, Maria said nothing.

“Very well,” sighed the man. He hissed once again, and the spiders continued their march towards Maria’s face.
Snapping out of it, Maria screamed, “Wait! Okay, I’ll confess”. She then proceeded to list off everything she had ever done wrong, all the way back to when she had stolen an extra cookie at the age of three. When Maria finally got around to admitting the theft of the ring the man’s eyes lit up.
“So it was you!” he exclaimed. “Take me to it! I need it back from you!”. Eager to oblige, Maria scampered outside. As she ran the spiders fell off of her. In no time at all, Maria had her treasure box dug out and the ring was in her hand. She spun around to give it to the man, but he was already right beside her. He stuck his hand out in front of him and Maria dropped the ring in his palm. As the man’s hand wrapped around the piece of jewelry a smile spread across his face. Maria almost smiled back, thankful that her ordeal was over. But before she could calm down completely, the man spoke again.
“You must be punished for stealing this ring, of course. It is a very important artifact to me and my family. I will go light on you since you are only a child. I am not a monster,” intoned the man. He then briskly walked away, turning the corner around her house and was no longer in Maria’s line of sight. She sat there, wondering what her punishment would be. She didn’t have to wait long, though. Only a minute later she saw a steady stream of spiders inching towards her. Maria didn’t move, accepting the fact that she couldn’t hide forever. Her stoic resolve crumbled the second the first spider touched her though. She started to scream, and this time she didn't close her mouth fast enough. Spiders crawled their way into her mouth and all around her face. Maria was still screaming when her mother came back from work two hours later, but by that time the spiders were long gone.