This text first appeared on January 28, 2023.

Suddenly a cramp. She slows her steps. It's like having ropes tied to their intestines and yanking on them. This is how Irina Ruoff later remembered. She braces herself against the cramps raging in her abdomen with all her might. Just getting along somehow, she thinks.

In 20 minutes she should be at the parking lot where her ride is waiting. But the pain is strong. She wants to give in, sit, lie down. An older couple comes towards her. I'll let that pass, she decides. Then I lie down. She has already taken two painkillers.

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