As soon as I saw my daughter, I realized that a lot could happen that might significantly alter a person in a relatively short period of time. This was especially true if the person in question wanted, on some deep level, to change. Analise had wanted to change. To get over her depression. To stop grieving quite so much. I knew she’d prayed for the pain to lessen. Kept her fingers crossed for it. Wished on shooting stars, fallen eyelashes, and birthday candles. And, after just two weeks at Camp Willowgreen, I could tell she was getting closer to having her wish granted. I knew this time away wasn’t long enough to heal the past, but it was, perhaps, long enough to show her that a bad spell could be broken, even for a short while. It was long enough to create hope. And while I also knew that her new sparkle of happiness would have been immediately apparent to any adult who’d known her over this past and very difficult year, I sensed it wasn’t quite apparent to her yet.
