That night. That perfect night. The last perfect night. The night when the light was lost, and I was lost, and the darkness won. She dressed for dancing, and I took her even though I don’t like dancing. Rather, I like dancing with her very much, but I didn’t like dancing where there were so many people and too much noise and leering people. She put her head on my shoulder, even though the song wasn’t a slow one. I could feel her heartbeat, and I forgot about the people and just danced with her. I couldn’t hear the music. We were dancing to our own song. Inevitably, there were drunks. Who comes to a dance without someone to dance with? Who decides to try and push their way in, when it should have been obvious to leave us alone? We weren’t the only pair of girls on that dance floor, yet the man with the leering eyes and the sweat decided to try and take her away. His meaty hand that looked as he spent his days in a cubicle wrapped around her arm as if he could possess her that way. Like the playground bully taking away a toy. She shouted, not yet afraid. I told him to get lost. He just laughed. Said a real man was there to show us a good time. I’ve known real men. This sweaty specimen wasn’t one of them. I thought of my father – the man who raised me. Who took me fishing, and camping, and never worried that I looked at girls. Who didn’t get angry when I introduced him to Sasha. A real man, who loved her as much as he loved me. I thought of my brother, who didn’t like fishing or camping but certainly liked girls. Everyone said he was cute, but he was my brother so I didn’t see it. People thought he was weak because he didn’t play sports, until the day one of the quarterbacks tried to corner me at a party I didn’t particularly want to go to. He took a beating, but as the old-timers would say, you should see the other guy. My brother had fractured ribs, but the worse break was in his hand. He broke it on the quarterback’s face. My brother was wrapped with bandages and sent home. The quarterback was a guest there for two weeks. The way his leg broke meant he would never play football again. But everybody knew what he had tried to do, and nobody tried to make anything of it. This drunk “man” still had his hand around her arm. Until I grabbed his thumb, like my brother showed me. Until I bent it back until I felt it snap like a carrot you’re about to put into the cookpot. He let go then. And we left. Sasha was laughing. I was her hero. She kissed me, and I never understood why people got drunk. With that kiss, my toes left the pavement and I knew I could do anything. We headed back to our apartment. Our home. Where we cooked our food, and dressed for work, and dreamed our dreams and made love. She said the party shouldn’t end just because of one drunk asshole. I agreed. I would have agreed to anything just as long as her hand was in mine, though when we stopped at the bus stop, she moved it to my back pocket. I don’t know why that feels so nice, but maybe it was just because it was her. I’d run across the street to the little store there. She’d wait, needing a little air after the press of all those bodies, and the confrontation. It didn’t take long to get a bottle of wine and those fake onion rings that she loved so much. The person ahead of me in line was two dollars short, so I passed him a couple crumpled notes, eager to get back outside with the person who made me feel as if the world would always be wonderful and full of light. ID check for the wine, and I couldn’t find my driver’s license. I must have had it earlier. I got into the bar, after all. But then I remembered I put it in my shoe in case somebody decided to take my wallet. Back outside. Sasha was gone. I looked around, but there was nobody. The streetlight switched off. The light was gone. _______________________________________________________ This is some character art I did today. You may have seen the pictures I've posted of Lenny previously. This is her lost love, Sasha. And, I was inspired to start writing. So, I hope you enjoy the short story and the art! Thanks for looking. EDIT: Redid the render. MUCH better this way!