Angelika forgot her own troubles which until now occupied her mind and focused on the direction the scream was coming from. Unforseen as it was, she became a real part of the small world of the bistro and the life on the adjacent sidewalk. They were all united by the same curiosity and apprehension.


Oliver growled quickly and fiercely darted out from beneath the table and nearly overturned the chair with Angelika. It was very sudden and unexpected. She couldn’t react quickly enough, just tried to keep her balance as the chair, to which Oliver was tied to, moved forward, following the dog to the sidewalk. Fortunately, the glass of expensive wine remained on the table, and this was her main concern. Not to lose a single drop of it.


In the same moment, a man dressed all in black with a hood over his head rushed out from around the corner not expecting any unbreakable obstacles, let alone the fateful leash lying on the ground between Oliver and Angelika’s chair.

The young shabby man, whose hood fell off his head, was frantically trying to get back on his feet, cursing profusely as he did so, but his desperate efforts were hindered by the dog's leash, in which he became entangled. Oliver stood over him, baring his teeth menacingly. The fear and rage in the men’s eyes were evident.


Angelika panicked and felt nauseous looking at the streak of blood running from the guy's knee. She was hoping for a miracle, not to get into more trouble. Still sitting frozen in the chair, she could not get up without releasing Oliver. She didn't recognize her dog. He was usually very calm and placid and now did not react to her scream: “Oliver, stop it! What are you doing?”

All the waiters ran out of the restaurant and not only the lawyers from the next table, but all the diners and people on the street rushed closer to see the scene. No one of them dared to approach the furious dog. It seemed like a whole week to Angelica, but it did not last a minute.


An older man in an obviously expensive suit rushed from around the corner, his face was red with anger or exhaustion, pointed at the man on the ground and shouted: "You damned thief! Give me back my wallet!" He stopped at a safe distance from the thief and the still growling Oliver and took a deep breath.

“Señor Ribera! Dios mío!”

One of the supposed lawyers from the next table screamed something else before running to the man in the suit, but Angelika didn't quite understand it. She was still sitting on the pavement, far from her glass of wine and with the thief and Oliver both attached to her chair by the leash. She was in the middle of it all but even now nobody was paying attention to her. As if it was only between Mr. Ribera, the thief and Oliver.


Angelika was terrified and did not hear the police sirens. It was not until three officers slowly but with determination approached her and for some mysterious reason, she felt relieved to see them. The hooded man made one last attempt to free himself but hissed in pain and sat back down on the ground with a resigned look. Oliver calmed down and crawled back under the table with a low growl. As if police uniforms represent some authority even for a dog.

“Hold the dog, madam,” one of the police officers ordered. He did not sound as strict as Angelika would expect him. On the contrary, he seemed to look at her kindly, while the other two officers kept their eyes on the man on the ground and a small pool of blood forming beneath him. Finally, she caught someone’s attention.


That was all she remembered.