...whatever happened to her?
I could never forget her.
Even as a tot, she was rambunctious and prickly, a social butterfly who could never shut up. She would ramble about everything animals and nature; I was always surprised at how much she knew, even at such a young age.
Whenever I wanted information on something as simple as a bird? She'd rap off the species, quick and efficient, her tongue wriggling, never stopping. She could list every feature, every environment in which it thrived, any oddities of their behaviour. She was a walking, talking encyclopedia on animals, always learning, always wondering.
She played outside constantly, her dogs always by her side, as she followed deer and rabbits, being able to get incredibly close to them before they fled. She climbed the lilac trees, smiling and laughing, their scent attractive to her. One could argue she was Nature herself, the way she bounded through the woods, climbing trees and observing the local wildlife.
No wonder I always overheard the kids referring to her as "Nature Nut."
I watched her grow, her interest in animals still alive, but dwindling more as the age of computers ushered in a new world of possibilities. Soon, she had her nose to the screen, reading anything she ever wanted to know. She absorbed the information like a sponge, and the games that she found kept her going back for more.
It wasn't long before she became absorbed in video games, reciting lines from every game she played. Her father always thought she played too much, as she complained of her butt being sore from sitting too long, eyes sharp, focused, face dead serious as she leapt out of the way of a firing tank.
On the surface, she seemed like a typical child, absorbed in the technology of today, wanting to simply do nothing except sit in front of a TV and crunch level characters.
