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"Of course," I said

"I likenew friends and my daddy likes to hear about them He told me to write him a letter every day Sometimes, I write two a day And I have piles and piles of letters from him," she said Then she paused, put the notepad down and looked at me "I think I'll have a cookie, too"

When she got up, I leaned over and looked at her pad I went from surprise to shock and confusion

There wasn't a ritten on it, just lines scrawled in every direction

At Mrs Kleckner's directive, Miss Cranshaw took et some fresh air

"We like you to stay on the pathways," she said "You can sit on the benches, even on the grass or under a tree, as long as you re at the boundaries

The grounds were beautiful, with beds of flowers, birdbaths, some stone and es, the grass, and the gardens were all well ardens as alked through None of the other patients at the clinic were outside, as far as I could see

"I'd like to just sit here for a while," I said, , center path The sight of the soft clouds, the scent of the grass and the flowers, and the touch of the breeze onoutdoors; I liked nature What else did I like? It was strange, discovering such basic and sis about yourself

"You have about an hour before dinner," Miss Cranshaw said "I have to look after a few patients and then I'll coet you when it's time to come in," she said

I thanked her and sat back, watching two songbirds flit from the birdbath to a statue of a cherub They paraded on the s off to fly toward the oak trees

It's so quiet, so beautiful and fresh here, I thought It was a perfect place for recuperation The only proble and now a part ofso terrifying that it would cause s about ht, too horrendous for the doctors or nurses to want to tell me

A ht e from the shadows and step onto a path He walked sloith his head down When he drew closer, he looked up and saw me and he stopped quickly

"Hi," I said "It's so pretty out, I wonder why there aren't more people outside"

For a second he looked like he ht run off Then he took a deep breath and replied

"No one comes out here this time of the day It's too close to dinner," he said "Everyone usually follows a strict routine here," he added He looked to his right and then glanced at me as if he had to steal each and every look