The rainbow had been swallowed by a rushing thundercloud. The sun darkened and for a brief moment the children held each other by the hands involuntarily frightened. As the first raindrops fell on the parched meadow, the four friends scattered and ran with loud shouts up the small hill. They sensed that from there they would have a good view of the approaching natural spectacle. Delia, who at 7 years old was the youngest and smallest of the four, reached the gathering last. The others had already made themselves comfortable with their legs stretched out under the old cherry tree. The fruits of the tree had been eaten by the children weeks ago. A few blackened ones, which had not even temped the birds, hung isolated in the branches. Delia climbed on one of the drooping branches and let her legs dangle.
Then they saw the first lightning descend in the distance, and Silja clapped her hands in a haughty way. The thunder rumbled a short time later and was reinforced by the multiple echo of the mountains. Silja was 9 years old and the oldest of the group. She loved thunderstorms and heavy downpours, hail and snow. Basically, she loved every kind of weather that caused adversity. Not because the others did not like it, but because she regarded their dislike with a certain haughtiness and thought it weak or petty. She, on the other hand, wanted to be courageous and was happy to have every opportunity to show this courage.
Robert lit a cigarette. He too wanted to show something. Unlike Silja, who was two weeks older than him, he liked to imitate adult behavior. Today, as usual, he had stolen some of his mother's cigarettes. While he did not understand the habit of adults sitting in front of the TV when the wild winds raged outside, he wore his rain jacket with the proud awareness of acting prudently. A second flash of light flashed through the clouds and hit somewhere on the other side of the valley in a storm mast or a street lamp or some other man-made object of this kind. The thunder rumbled again, echoing again. Robert asked Daniel, "Do you have any trouble?"
Daniel was Robert's little brother and eight years old. "Do you think the teachers will call home and tell our parents that we did not attend classes?" The parents of Daniel and Robert did not beat them, but they knew how to punish them with words in such a way that the younger one shook his head at the presentation. Robert made a smoke ring and blew it away. Then he hugged his brother and said, "Do not worry, it will not happen, and besides, when else do we have a chance to see something like that?" The last words were swallowed by a lightning strike followed by thunder. The storm came closer. Delia said, "I think today, the school may close earlier, beacause of this weather!" "Because of this weather!" said Silja. "Oh no, stop it, do not do that!" Delia shouted and jumped down from the branch angrily to build up in front of Silja. "Oh no, stop it, do not do that!" Silja repeated. Delia wanted to attack her and hit her with her little fists against her arms and chest. "Stop doing that." she yelled angrily and "I do not like that!". Silja repeated the words and laughed. There was fear in Delia's eyes.
A flash of light illuminated the scene and the rain increased significantly. Previously only a few drops had fallen down here and there. Now the rain pelted down so vehemently that even Robert's cigarette was extinguished by a big drop. "Shit, my fag!" he shouted, throwing the cigarette furiously into the grass. The other kids stared at him. His frustrated tone had made him look a lot more grown-up than he was. He noticed it and put on a serious face. Then he hugged Delia and told her, "Do not let her annoy you, it's just a stupid game, let's go to our house, the rain is getting stronger, and with those flashes, it's not good to sit under a tree! " "You're just scared!" said Silja, who was angry about his solidarity with little Delia. Was it not fun to ape the little one a bit? Did she not have to learn to defend herself, not with her little ridiculous little fists, but with words and courage?
"I want to go home, too, I'm cold." said David. "So, let's go." replied Delia, speaking with her the decision word. Silja grunted softly, "So, let's go!", But the others, who were already on their way down the hill, could not hear it anymore.
I hope you like this shortstory I wrote today. You can find the German original text here.