March 1997
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March 1997 |
Memories of Shelly |
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Shoshana Silverman What Lies at the End of the Rainbow Some people say that a pot of gold lies at the end of the rainbow. Unfortunatly, the rainbow never reached the pot of gold. In the fifth grade, we were assigned to be partners with the first graders. My partner was Shelly Volk. Shelly was born on July 7, 1991. She started going to the Hebrew Day School when she was five years old. Shelly had a sister, Maia, who was three years younger than she. Shelly was a girl with vast imagination. She was the nicest girl I know. She never tired of hearing stories. She enjoyed playing piano and was great in art. Midway through the year, Shelly developed a brain tumor. At first, it looked like she was going to make it. She was responding to terrifically to the treatment. As I began sixth grade, her condition worsened.She was unable to go to school in the last three months of her life. The rainbow makes me wish that all things had its nature. I can only try to make my rainbow as beautiful as Shelly's was. The last time I talked with Shelly, She was thinking about what color hair she wanted to have when her hair grew back from the radiation treatment, not that it was her choice. She was optimistic the entire time. There was not doubt in her mind that she would make it. She refused to let her illness consume her. She was looking forward to going back to school, and her life returning to normal. Yet it did not. My mom came home from work one night and said that she wanted to speak with my dad. I asked to be part of the conversation, and that is when my mom told me that Shelly had died. The rainbow suddenly ended, not yet complete. I remember the rainbow in all it's splendor. Nothing I have found is as beautiful as the rainbow that was Shelly's life.
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