In 1978, a young woman from Minas Gerais, an employee of Banco do Brasil, lived in Rio de Janeiro in a newly rented apartment on Ipiranga Street, at the corner of Conde de Baependi.
It was a rounded building on stilts, with grates surrounding the street in Laranjeiras. It was around 8 PM, and she was waiting on the ground floor for her boyfriend, chatting with the doorman and another resident.
A bright orange VW Brasília pulled up, with its left wheels on the sidewalk, as was customary in Rio at the time. The doorman opened the gate, the young woman got out, walked around the front of the car, and sat in the passenger seat. They turned their bodies toward each other and leaned in for the customary kiss.
When the young man turned to face forward and placed both hands on the steering wheel, he felt something poke his neck from the left side through the car window. He turned to see a double-barreled pistol being pointed at him, then quickly returned his gaze to his neck. In a rapid assessment of the situation with his peripheral vision (the military service helped with these things), he noted there were two assailants; one was holding the doorman and the young woman, while the other said:
_“Hand over the jewelry.”
The young man only had an Omega Seamaster watch, bought in 1965 at the Omega factory in Switzerland, brought back by his parents from a trip to Europe with Meliá, which they had treated themselves to. He handed it over, with great sadness.
_“The wallet!” he also surrendered.
And the double-barreled gun pressed against his neck…
_“This damn thing with the hammers pulled will go off accidentally!”
The assailant then turned to the young woman, who, though nervous and without a gun at her neck, hesitated to take off her earrings and bracelet.
The other assailant, watching the surroundings with what appeared to be a .22 revolver, growing impatient with the delay, shouted at her: “I don’t want costume jewelry, just give me the ring!”
And the young woman, standing her ground, replied:
_“That’s not costume jewelry, sir!”
As the double-barreled gun started to tremble against the young man’s neck, both began to laugh at the situation. Well, not both—everyone except the young woman, still indignant at the affront.
After handing over the ring along with the other jewelry, the two assailants hurriedly walked away, but not too fast, heading the wrong way down Laranjeiras Street.
The rings were gone, but their necks and vanity remained.
They got married, had many children, and did not live happily ever after.
Miguel Fernández y Fernández, engineer and narrator (the events are real)
2,528 characters, written in September 2024.
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