Streetlights

[Riel]

Under, over. Under, over. Their hands turning around as if they were independent of the rest of their body, their feet twirling beneath them in a constant ellipse, the two of them were dancing in the dark. She was wearing her favorite white dress, the one with a cute little bow as a belt and enough cleavage showing to be interesting, but not easy. He was wearing his faded jeans and a tee shirt, the muscles of his abs sticking through the brown cotton.

As if it were a halo or a stage, the streetlight seemed to be watching them from above, its light impartial and unjudging. The two had just come back from sneaking to the local bar, he drinking and her standing around looking absolutely desirable. Together they were quite the pair; he was her edge, and she was his temperament.

His hands finding her hips, he lifts her from the ground, the lamp above seeming to place a halo around her dark brown hair. Giggling, she looks down on him with those dark blue eyes, the flecks of black giving them an appearance similar to the depths of an ocean. They were the perfect couple, blissfully unaware that their lives would be ripped apart.
_

From the shadows only a couple meters away, Gabriel took a long drag from his cigarette, his stained yellow fingers indicating a long-standing habit. The tip seemed to glow with more than flames, it seemed to grow with hate, with passion. Exhaling the smoke through his mouth, Gabriel took a few more drags before throwing the cigarette to the ground.

Crushing it between his heel, Gabriel checked his watch. Five minutes- five minutes had passed since he called them, so they should be here any moment.
Yes, any second now, and the dancing couple would stop; the curtain would be drawn on their beautiful ballet.

Any moment came far too soon.

Sirens screamed through the night, alternating red and blue lights blinding those that happened to look outside their bedroom windows. Five patrol cars went tearing down the street, forming a circle around the –no longer- dancing couple.
Using his own body, the man tried to protect the girl from what he thought was a threat.

Leaving his patrol car, one of the cops tackled the man and took him to the ground, straddling him and attacking him with a nightstick. A few more hits, and the man lie on the ground without moving. Snapping the tough steel handcuffs around the man’s wrist, the cop looked up to the woman and smiled.

“Don’t worry, ma’am; we’ll take care of him right and proper, and he won’t be bothering you again”.

From the shadows walked Gabriel, his gleaming white hood illuminated by the burning cross behind him.