Later in the evening, I had taken a shower and something to eat. I think the time was almost eleven PM, when the phone rang. It was Manuela, and she asked if I wanted to join them for a little night cup and I accepted. I asked if they wanted to come to my room, even if it was a single room, I had a balcony, which I was sure they didn't have, according to the hotel room descriptions I had seen. She accepted. Shortly after, Christa knocked on the door and said that her Mom and Grandma would come in a few minutes, they got some idea about changing first.
- Oh, Helena, Christa said, could I just haave one cigarette? You know, Mom won't let me smoke, and there's no chance to be alone with Grandma this weekend. The girl started to cough, but kept the cough back and I saw my chance.
- Christa, between you and me. If you like to, you can quickly smoke two at the same time if you - if you let me put my hands over your mouth and your nose during that coughing fit. Christa first looked at me, then she nodded and I put my hands there. Her nose was so... so large and soft and her cough was so warm and humid. When her coughing fit was over, and let my finger slide down and I quickly touched her over her nostrils before removing my hands. Quickly, I lit two cigarettes and put them between her lips.
- If you haven't finished them when they knnock on the door, just hand them over to me, right? I said and the girl nodded.
I smiled and couldn't resist kissing her on the cheek and she smiled back.
- Do you too like when Mom and Grandma couggh?, she asked.
I got so surprised so I didn't know what to say.
- Never mind, Christa said and smiled.

Shortly after, someone knocked on the door, and Christa handed over the rest of the cigarettes to me.
- You can come over to my place and have a whole pack of cigarettes, if you promise to cough your lungs up in my hands afterwards, I whispered in her ear and kissed the large side of her nose quickly. She kissed me back on my cheek before I opened the door.
Manuela and Ana sat down and filled our plastic glasses with whisky. When I say filled, I mean it...
- Aha, I remember you were so interested inn Mom smoking two, Ana laughed when I dragged on my two cigarettes.
Manuela laughed too, but it turned into a rattling coughing fit. She soon dragged on her cigarette again, and I watched her nostrils pumping out smoke. Christa got a new coughing fit and coughed hardly in her hands for a while. Don't know if it was the whisky, but I started to talk too much, I think.
- I can't help feeling like putting my handds over your mouth when you cough, I said to Christa.
- Want to have something for your cough, Maanuela asked and put a cigarette between the girl's lips.
- Mom, Ana said.
- Ohh, just one, Manuela said.
- Half of it, Ana said.
I'm obviously not used to such a big glass of whisky, because I said;
- I know, we blow our smoke into your mouthh until we've finished our three cigarettes. Most of the smoke will go into the air anyway.
- Hmm, OK then, Ana said and gave me a longg but friendly glance. - Yes, yes, come on, Christa said and openeed her mouth towards her Mom, who had just filled her mouth with smoke. She inhaled it before blowing a tight stream into the girl's mouth. Directly, Christa moved over to me and I did the same thing. Oh, her nose exhale was so good.
- Now, your nostrils, Manuela said and placced her hand over Christa's mouth. She blew a thin stream into the girl's nostril at the same time as she inhaled. Manuela started to cough a little.
- We'll let Christa cough in your hands as much as you like, Helena, if you take mine into your hands first, she wheezed to me. I was about to put my hands over her mouth and nose when Christa quickly put her left hand there, so I joined with my right hand. Manuela's nose was so soft and large, just like Christa's had been. Sooner than I had expected, Manuela coughed up her phlegm and we received it in our hands. I was getting really excited now, and when cleaning my hand together with Christa, I couldn't help touching her nostril with the tip of my tongue, and reached my climax.
- Christa, we could meet in my flat, in seccret, and I'll let you smoke as much as you want to, if you just let me feel your cough in my hands and... in my face, I whispered.
- I hope my cough won't give up too soon thhen, she whispered back.

When they left, Ana kissed my cheek and I realized I got excited by feeling her nose on to my cheek. Christa said good-bye and we exchanged a glance. We would meet on the train back again, so she could get my address then. Before leaving, I kissed Manuela on the cheek.
- Manuela, I can't help it, but I LOVE yourr cough, I whispered.
- We'll meet again, she whispered back and kissed me back on my cheek.

I knew they would be going back to town by the same train, so I looked for them at the station. No sign of them, I couldn't understood why I didn't wait for them at the hotel instead. I had had breakfast in my room, so we didn't meet in the morning. I found an empty compartment and sat down, looking out through the window and telling anyone who asked that the seats were reserved. Finally, just when the train was about to leave, they came, running and got on another wagon. I went there to say I had a compartment for them.
Christa was really developing a bronchitis, I guessed, she was coughing all the time and the young girl sounded like she was full of thick phlegm. Her cough didn't like the running, too, neither did Manuela's. She breathed heavily and sometimes with rattlings, and she coughed frequently.
- Thanks for keeping seats for us, Manuela said and sat down beside me; I had the window seat. Christa sat down in the other window seat. She was coughing over and over again in her hand. Sometimes, I heard she was getting phlegm up and swallowed it.
- How are you, I smiled at her.
- Oh, my cough, my chest, the girl said and breathed heavily. Her face was a bit red, I could see clearly, despite her brown skin.
- Smoking two packs in the evening and late night with grandma didn't really improve it, Ana said in a serious voice but then smiled and caressed her daughter's chest as her cough went on.
Manuela started to laugh a little but her laughter turned into a long ratting and she started to cough. She coughed over and over again with her dark brown hand cupped over her mouth. Everytime it sounded like it was over, it started again, and every time I was sure I had never heard any woman cough so deeply, the woman broak all records. I seriously thought her lungs and stomach and everything were coming up.
Finally, she got into a really bad phase, when she coughed so she wasn't given any time to inhale properly because the urge to cough was so strong. Ana was trying to talk to me, but I could hardly concentrate because of the two coughing people. I was glancing at Manuela's hand and her face, and at her shakening body, and I was looking at Christa's face and at her hand, and sometimes our eyes met.
Finally, after over five minutes, Manuela's cough stopped while Christa got new coughing fits time after time. Ana exhaled her cigarette smoke just in front of the coughing girl.
- Come on Helena, she said, I can hardly reach you.
- Sorry, I said, I was thinking about something. What did you say?
She laughed a little, then cleared her throat. - It's just Mom's ordinary smoker's cough, it goes on more or less for about two hours in the morning. But, this little lady has been going on since three A.M., that's why we were a little bit late you see, because she coughed so much so everything took longer time than expected.
I nodded and smiled at Christa and touched her cheek gently, just as her cough produced an extremely hard and sharp sound from her voice.
- Doesn't sound too good, Manuela said in a cloud of smoke.
- Oh, can I have just one cigarette, Christa said.
Ana sighed in a demonstrating way.
- Only ONE, and I mean ONE today, she said and Christa nodded, in the beginning of a new coughing fit. The sharp sound was gone but her rattling sounded deeper now.
Ana brought up a brand new pack of cigarettes from her purse and put on the table.
- Just ONE pack today, she smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek.
- Your Mom and I decided that her preventing you from smoking will just increase your urge for doing it, Manuela smiled. - That pack is yours.
- It's better that you smoke with me, as much as you like, than doing it in school where I never know how much you smoke - OK?, Ana said.
The girl nodded, lit a cigarette between her hacks, and managed to keep her cough back when dragging. She fought the hardest she could to keep the hackings back, and she managed to inhale deeply by really forcing herself. Everyone could hear how her cough reflexes wanted to start the hacking again at the same time as she inhaled slowly. Then, she lost the fight and coughed out the smoke towards the window. She hacked deeper and deeper, then cupped her hand over her mouth and leaned her head back. I watched her nostrils expand as she inhaled deeply. She coughed so her body was shaking and put the cigarette in the ash-tray. She then cupped both her hands up over her nose and coughed wildly for two minutes with her elbows on the table, looking out through the window. I leant forward and massaged her back. I could almost feel the hard rattlings from the girl's chest.
When it finally subsided, she took a deep double drag on the cigarette and smiled tiredly but happily.

- You'd better see a doctor when you get home, I smiled.
- I will, Christa sighed.
- For how long will you be coughing, do you think, I asked.
- Don't talk about it, Christa said. - After a cold I usually cough for at least a week, and this is worse.

Everytime Christa got a new coughing fit, and they were really frequent, I could hardly control myself, and Manuela noticed it. At the next stop, Ana wanted to get off the train to get some fresh air, and Manuela followed her. Christa didn't want to move, and I stayed with her. As soon as the girl got her next coughing fit, my hand was suddenly there, gently cupped over her mouth. Christa smiled a little and moved my hand upwards a little so a finger touched her nose. She didn't have to play; her coughing fit got worse and as that hard sound was back I fell on to my knees with my hands up over the girl's lips. I wanted to put an ear to her chest but reached my goal before I had moved there. Gasping heavily, I put my head in Christa's knee just as the girl coughed so she choked.

During the last part of the train, Manuela noticed that neither her own smoking cough, nor some coughing from Ana, nor Christa's bad cough could wake me up from a deep, nice sleep, Manuela told me later.

Whey they said good-bye, Manuela and I exchanged phone numbers, and Manuela promised to give it to Christa, too. The only thing I missed was that I had never heard Ana's famous morning cough, the one Christa liked to get in her young, soft hand...

The next day, Christa was going to the doctor but she coughed so she hardly walk upright. Since neither Ana, nor Manuela, had time to follow her, Manuela made a quick decision and phoned me... Oh, Christa was behind her somewhere when she called, and she really coughed without interruption, and her chest sounded so thick... I picked her up in my car, and she either coughed or breathed heavily and rattling. At one time, I had to stop the car and satisfy myself with that bad cough, I just couldn't control myself.

To be continued...sooner or later... when Christa has had another cold, or if I maybe invite Manuela for a drink... or Ana...