The first memory i have of her is from a vhs home movie. She had pigtails and a red Christmas party dress on. She couldn't have been older than 5 years of age. Young enough to still believe in Santa Claus and Jesus. She stood in front of a decked out Christmas pine singing songs about baby Jesus that she had learned for a school Christmas pageant. This was probably before anything had touched or tainted her fragile young mind. Probably.

If anyone had seen her at the time they would have known her as a social child, one that got along with everyone, teachers and peers alike. A talkative child that still hadn't seemed much more mature than her actual age. Any trouble that she had gotten into was strictly because she couldn't keep herself from vocalizing anything that had crossed her mind. Her grades were good, probably even better than most of the kids in her class.

I'm sure her parents were very proud of her. Their creative genes were passed on perfectly. They were hard working people. The mother worked morning shifts and the father worked nights which made for a somewhat disjointed home life. Their daily routine consisted of peeling the young child out of bed, breakfast, then a ride to school. Extended childcare after school was necessary as was the case for most children with working parents. Then a quick ride down the block to home where the mother cooked dinner and the two, sometimes three, ate at the dinner table while watching the evening news.

After awhile the extended childcare was no longer necessary and the child was picked up after school by her aunt along with her one year older male cousin. Everything was normal from the outside looking in as far as I can remember.