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Dedicated to Karel, with love...
1. Introduction
Most people spend a
whole life searching. That's humane nature. Unfortunately some never
know what they are looking for. Neither did I. Until one day it became
clear: I was looking for the rainbow.
This tale is about my
search. Did I find my rainbow and, if so, will I ever know what lies
beyond it?
2.
Look mummy, a
rainbow!
Like
all children, I was enchanted by the first rainbows I saw. Those
colours, sometimes bright, sometimes fade, against a cloudy sky. A few
times I tried to run towards one. I wanted to look at it more closely
or, who knows, touch one.
As I grew up, I
totally lost interest. Looking back though, I seem to recall that round
the age of 9 my attention was briefly drawn towards a cute little
rainbow. It is probably my
imagination.
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Round the age of 9
my attention was briefly drawn towards a cute little rainbow. |
3. Puppy rainbows
One day, I must have
been 13 or 14, I was confronted with a rainbow brighter than I had ever
seen. What's more, for the first time I had the feeling I wanted to
explore it and look what lies behind. This seemed like a silly idea. I
had heard that some people have the same feeling. Although I had never
met one, I was sure they did not at all look like me.
Strange thing about
this rainbow is that it stayed out there for about two years. Then,
after summer holidays, it faded away. I guess it had new places to
visit. Does two years seem a long time? Maybe it does to those who are
not really interested in rainbows. I can assure you that some of them
stay on much longer, even for life.
Once there was a rumour
in the classroom that some of my school pals had taken a hidden interest
in rainbows. Everyone did very secretive about it, or laughed. As I
recall, I just turned slightly red, and felt relieved that they were not
talking about me.
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Everyone did very
secretive about rainbows, or laughed. |
After this incident my
mind was taken off rainbows for good, or so I hoped. But only a few
months later a new one appeared.
4. Why not climb hills
instead?
Of
course, round this age most of my friends developed another interest:
hill climbing! Everyone started talking about it. I am sure that the
quickest already did some climbing, although most of it was just
bragging.
Me, I had no climbing
stories to tell. Nobody minded. After all I was always a good, serious
boy, not at all concerned with such frivolous matters. I gave them quite
a shock when I conquered my first hill right in front of them. Why did I
do it? I guess just to prove to them that I could. And to prove to
myself that rainbows were just a vague memory of the past.
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I conquered my
first hill right in front of them. |
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In the years to come, I
climbed a few more hills. Then I didn't bother anymore. It was to
tiring, and I hardly got any fun out of it. I told everybody that I just
hadn't yet found a hill challenging enough. They believed it and, most
of the time, so did I. Of course there were still these rainbows which I
kept seeing regularly. The more I learned about rainbow explorers
though, the less I believed I could be one of them.
5. Finally, there it
was...
Meanwhile
I got 30. That summer, as I was walking near the sea, I saw a young
prince, staring at the water with a very sad look in his eyes. I asked
him what was troubling him. He told me that he had a hidden side nobody
knew yet. I thought it could never be anything serious. After all the
prince was known to lead a happy, glamorous life. He was a famous hill
climber.
Later
that year he told me. He was interested in rainbows, and had even
started climbing one. At that instant, my own life became clear to me.
The only road for me to follow was that leading to the rainbow. The
prince reached out his hand and asked me to grab it.
Whatever lies ahead, he would never let
me fall.
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The prince
reached out his hand and asked me to grab it. |
That night we wept many
tears. We knew there was no way back now. We had no idea what the future
might bring. At the same time we were filled with the comforting feeling
that we were no longer alone on our quest.
6. Walking on and over
the rainbow
When you climb a
rainbow, you notice that the first part is very steep. Sometimes you
wonder if you will ever succeed. In the beginning I even thought of
going back. I am now lucky I didn't. It can be very beautiful up there.
There are many others exploring it together with you.
One of the most
exciting things is that you can still see the world below very clearly.
Before you start, you often think of all the people you would leave
behind. Perhaps you would never see them again. Nothing is less true. As
I look, I see everyone dear to me waving very friendly as they see me
conquering my rainbow. Sometimes I notice a little tear in someone's
eyes. I am not sure this is only caused by the bright colours.
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I see everyone
dear to me waving very friendly. |
Yes, I have set a
few steps beyond the rainbow. It is a world just as the one on the other
side. Some people are happy, some are not. But I now know it is my
world, and one day I will settle down there.
When that time
comes, I might continue this story...
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