Rainbow

 

Small, cold drops of summer rain spattered across my face. It had been stifling for days. Everyone in the village had been praying to God for rain. And finally, they arrived. Drop by drop, falling from the light blue sky, to rest on the ground, gray from the long absence of rain. Silence reigned all around, the only sound was the sound of rain. I lay down on the wet grass, closed my eyes, and savored each droplet hitting the uncovered part of my body. My T-shirt and denim skirt were sticking to my skin. I remained in that position for a moment longer, when suddenly the rain stopped. I opened my eyes and looked around. Far away, a bright sun peeked out from behind the trees, and right next to it, a long, wide rainbow "grew" out. It was slightly transparent. Only after a short while did it begin to gain color. I loved rainbows. I saw tons of them. So colorful, long, wide, pale. But this one was special. It had so many colors. There were yellow, green, blue, purple, red, and other less distinct colors. I examined each color carefully.

Yellow.

"Mommy, Mommy, will you swing me?"

A woman in a yellow dress and curly red hair walked up to a wooden swing hanging from a tree branch and pushed it.

"Mommy, higher, higher!" I shouted, as a five-year-old girl.

The redhead pushed the child's toy twice more and walked a few steps to a colorful deckchair, sending the girl a smile. She sank down onto the seat with her book, placed large sunglasses on her nose, and began to read with interest. She looked so beautiful with her unique hair falling over her pale shoulders and her striking yellow dress fluttering like an autumn leaf in the wind.

Green.

I walked in the middle, between my parents, holding their hands. Dad carried a wicker basket and, draped over his shoulder, a red plaid blanket. We stopped at a certain spot, and Dad spread it out on the bright green grass. I took off my baby shoes and started running barefoot. Meanwhile, Mom pulled plates, a drink, fruit, and sandwiches from the basket and laid them out. Mmm. I remember their taste and smell. They were radish, tomato, cucumber, and lettuce sandwiches. I would give anything to smell their aroma again.

Blue.

We were lying in a field just like these, resting our heads on each other's shoulders. Just me and him. Me and my friend. My only friend. We looked at the sky and recognized the shapes the clouds made. There was a dolphin and a turtle and a horse. That was my horse. He gave it to me. And now it's gone. Neither the horse nor him.

Purple.

My ninth birthday. Tears, sadness, and grief at home. A crowd of people. Everyone dressed in black. Just me and Mom in purple. Mom wanted to be buried purple. She loved that color. I was sitting on the front porch and petting the black cat that often wandered around our yard. She had such soft fur. Just like my mother's.

They wouldn't let me go up to the living room on the first floor. They said it was for my own good. But when they couldn't see, I slipped in and hugged Mommy. She lay still in a large wooden box. I hugged her tightly. As tightly as I could. She didn't hug me back. And she was so cold and pale. I didn't know she'd died then. When she was alive, we never talked about death.

Red.

"I'm here." That's how I always told Dad I'd come home.

"Your teacher called. She said you weren't at school today." Daddy, as usual, smelled of alcohol

. "

... Can you explain this to me?

" "I think so," I said. "Yesterday was the anniversary of Mommy's death, and...

" "I told you not to think about her!

" "But...

" "Shut up," he slapped me across the face. "Now go to the kitchen. I have a surprise for you."

I meekly went to the room he'd indicated. On the table, covered with a floral tablecloth, sat a strawberry cake on a tray. "So what do you say?

" my father approached me and put his arm around my waist.

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel like cake. I'd better go to my room.

" "What? What did you say? I'm buying you a cake for your seventeenth birthday, and you're telling me you don't feel like it?" he shouted directly into my face, which I held high by my hair.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." I hoped he'd let go.

"Are you sorry? You bitch. You're just like your mother." With that, he slapped me across the cheek. I punched him twice on the right and three times on the left. I tasted blood in my mouth.

"Now go to your room and don't show your face to me again!"

Drip Drip Drip

. I closed my eyes again.