To say I "knew" her would be an exaggeration. To say we were friends would be vastly overstating the situation. We haven't even been acquaintances for years. And yet, I've lost her, now she's gone.

The search of my inbox for some lasting letter yielded three results. All of them beautiful and supportive and undeserved. Undeserved because much as I scoured the sent box, it was empty. No trace of a letter to her, not even the pathetic and brief "no time to write right now". It seems that those last three emails (received almost five years ago) went unanswered. And although I know she's not up there, out there, wondering how I'm doing, I can't help but feel guilty for not telling her anyway.

So here I am, Leslie. And there you are. My mentor, my teacher. I didn't realize how much I missed you. Caught in my own Hoopla, I didn't realize you were gone.

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