I remember her.

Don't you?

Before the business suit

And the computer

And the constant conversations about numbers on the phone,

She was Elise,

Running through the sunflower fields

And the dewdrop grass on a Sunday morning,

Balling up the snow to send it over our heads,

Those times when she spoke so fast her words ran into each other and tumbled together in a growing heap and she would fall down and laugh and laugh.

Remember

When she built spaceships from cardboard

And forts from snow?

When she could bring life to the roots of a plant lost to fire

And a smile to the face of any that saw her?

Here she is,

Business suit,

Computer,

Constant conversations about numbers on the phone.

Elise,

All grown up.