Back with more, and the story just keeps on growing sadder and sadder…

Oh, thanks for reviewing so far! DevDev, always nice to see ya so nice..^^

DustyFall, I assure you the similarity of our titles are purely coincidental. I started this story actually in German, where it goes by the name of "Das Splittern des Regenbogens", and now I'm trying to translate it by meaning.

So, sorry to have you worried, but it's really just-coincidende.^^

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2. Headache

The morning didn't start well, because she had slept in.

And as if that hadn't been enough, she had the mother of all headaches. A look out her window confirmed her suspicions: the dark sky gifted the eart with a steady downpour, and it didn't seem, as if it would change within the next few hours.

Hastily, she dressed, packed her schoolbag, snatched a pain killer out of Miriam's stock, and sloshed the pill down with a sip of tea from her thermos, as she ran towards the busstop.

Of course, her bus was gone, and to make it in time(and a semi-dry state) to school, she had to spend her lunch money for the bus of the parallel line, which was twice as expensive. Needless to say, it held at every stop and red light.

When she finally stepped into the classroom, she was half an hour late, wich got her an hour of recess and another visit to Dr. Bliss' office.

For good luck, the school psychologist felt compassion for her situation, and sent her back to class, just in time for Mr. Simon's philosophy lesson.

Mr. Simmons, who had acknowledged Helga's poetic talent rather early, asked her to the blackboard, as to copy a poem.

In the middle of the word 'penance', Helga's eyes rolled back in her head, and she sank to the ground, unconcious.

"The last thing I remember, is, that I was about to write the 'n', when I..suddenly lost all feeling, all strength in my arm. I watched, as my hand, holding the chalk, slowly glid down and to the side, leaving a tattery, white line and then-I woke up in the ER.

They were wheeling me from the X-ray to..in..how's it called again? I can't remember, but it's a kind of large ring, which cuts the body into lots of tiny slices-well, on the screen, at least. And there they found the same thing like the guys working the X-ray. A shadow in the left half of my brain, which had been developing for the past three years."

Bob and Miriam had grown very silent through her speech. Now Bob cleared his throat, embarassed, and said:

"Listen, kid, you're right, we knew it all along, but..when you were diagnostizised with the tumor, you were just six years old! How were wo supposed to tell you, that there is something in your head, that might, eventually, perhaps, kill you some day, huh? I mean, we couldn't go like 'hey Olga, what do you want for dinner, oh yeah, you got that ulcer in your brain, that's slowly killing you, potatoes or rice?'"

The slap seemed to echo throughout the house, and nobody was probably more surprised than Miriam herself.

The imprint of her right hand blossomed on Bob's cheek like a tropic sunset.

And into the shocked silence, she whispered audibly:

"I should have done that a long time ago." 

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Damn, straight she should-sorry, getting carried away again…Don't wory, I'll keep writing.