Thea was surprised that she did not feel a deeper sense of loss at leaving her old life behind her.  It seemed, on the contrary, as she looked out at the yellow desert speeding by, that she had left very little.  Everything that was essential seemed to be right there in the car with her.  She lacked nothing. She even felt more compact and confident than usual.  She was all there, and something else was there, too – in her heart, was it, or under her cheek? Anyhow, it was about her somewhere, that warm sureness, that sturdy little companion with whom she shared a secret.

When Doctor Archie came in from the smoker, she was sitting still, looking intently out of the window and smiling, her lips a little parted, her hair in a blaze of sunshine.  The doctor thought she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen, and very funny, with her telescope and big handbag.  She made him feel jolly, and a little mournful, too.  He knew that the splendid things of life are few, after all, and so very easy to miss.

Friends of Childhood Chapter XVIII “Song of the Lark” by Willa Cather