The early morning air was crisp and cold, the first hints of dawn just starting to appear above the tips of the trees. The only sound that broke the heavy silence were the scattered, tired calls of birds heralding the coming light.

Elise was alone, sitting on a bench that had been placed at the edge of the pond where she had first learned to skate.

In her opinion, this was the most beautiful time of day, the most peaceful. There was no other place she could experience it like right here on this pond.

The ice of one of the indoor rinks would have been smoother and softer than what was covering this pond. But now that Sherrie had given her permission to start skating again, there was no where else she would rather take her first steps. This was the pond where her father had taught her to skate when she was little.

The chill of the morning slowly made its way through Elise's sweater and heavy coat, but it was only a mild discomfort. As soon as the ice was beneath her feet, she was sure she would warm up a bit.

But first, she needed to push away her fears and lace up her skates.

Moving very deliberately, she removed her left boot and slid her foot into her well-worn skate. Absently, Elise noted that they were going to need replacing soon. Hopefully, they would last through her recovery.

It took a mere moment to finish with that side and move onto the other. This skate was more of a struggle since her knee was still framed in a rigid brace, set by Sherrie to neither bend nor extend fully.

Elise had to make use of all her flexibility, almost bending completely in half to slip the skate over her foot and then stay that way to tighten and tie the laces.

That was the moment everything came rushing back: the injury, the surgery, returning home, the hours and hours of therapy. It was enough she almost gave up right then.

But Elise was too stubborn for that.

Finishing her task, she pushed herself up to her feet and took two steps to the very edge of the ice. From there she took a deep breath and pushed off onto the ice.

Her stride was stilted on the right side, but on the left, she could glide forward just as always. The freedom of flying over the ice was so close, and yet so far away.

It took a full lap around the ice for Elise to admit that she probably should have waited for the zamboni smoothed ice of the rink. There were so many ruts from the neighborhood kids' hockey skates that her blades wouldn't run smoothly. It was fine until her right blade hit one of the deeper ruts.

The pain was sharp near the center of her knee, but quickly faded to a bone deep ache. That was better than the first few sessions of therapy had been. That pain had been torture. This was manageable.

The more she moved, the warmer she felt and the more determined she became to make a full return to competition. She might not be ready for this season, but that did not mean she would not be ready for the season after.

By the time she had taken a handful of laps around the small pond, the sun had come up over the horizon to light the day and lend the smallest bit of warmth to the air. A quick glance at her watch showed that it was later than Elise had thought. If she didn't hurry, she would be late to her meeting.

She hurried to the bench to change back into her snow boots, before leaving with her skates slung over her shoulder.

Pulling out her cell phone, she called a number that had been used often in the past few weeks, and was happy when her call was answered. "Hey Gerald. I was just calling to confirm the time for our meeting today...That's right, in an hour. I'm going to pick up some coffee on my way. Did you want anything?...Sure! I'll see you soon then, sir. I look forward to working with you."

So much had happened in the past few months that she could have just quit on all her dreams. But at last it seemed that things were finally going to come together.

Today? Today was her new beginning.