Anyone who came in contact with Alisha Main knew she marched to the beat of a different drummer - usually Lars Ulrich of the heavy-metal band Metallica.
And there would have to be a Cliff Burton bass solo thrown in there, too.
"She was pretty much her own creation," said her father, Allan Main. "She didn't see herself fitting into any particular group. She was her own person. She was real."
The two were snowboarding together at Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe on Monday when the 13-year-old Carson Middle School eighth-grader was killed after crashing into a tree.
Through his grief, Main said, he has been able to find a sense of comfort.
"I find a lot of peace being able to look back knowing I was there for her," he said. "She knew I loved her and was proud of her."
However, Alisha's short life was marked with difficulties.
After her parents' divorce, Alisha and her siblings, Izaiah, 12, and Shila, 9, lived with their union carpenter father.
"She had to raise her younger brother and sister when I was at work," Main said. "She kind of had some issues with the fact that she had to grow up too fast."
A couple of years ago, she started dressing "gothic" - wearing dark clothing and black makeup.
At first, her father was skeptical. Then he remembered the long hair of his youth, and a wardrobe limited to 501 jeans paired with an Iron Maiden T-shirt under a flannel shirt.
So he embraced it. He nicknamed her Alice Cooper, and they rocked on.
"She would put a CD in, and I would turn it up," he recalled. "We would laugh together and judge muscle cars. We both loved Mustangs.
"She cared about a lot of things that are important to me. We had an awesome friendship, and we'd been through a lot together. And there was the occasional 'I love you' and a hug between us."
Moving to Carson City from Lake Tahoe two years ago, where she attended Al Tahoe Elementary School, Alisha struggled with grades and attendance.
But in the last couple of months, her dad said, she started to get more organized. She even cleaned her room without being asked and kept it that way for several weeks.
And Main had no doubts his little girl would have grown into a successful adult.
"I was really looking forward to seeing the kind of person she would have been," he said. "She was strong and mature. She had a really awesome spirit.
"She may not have been an honor student, but she did know Jesus."
The last couple of weeks were also marked with milestones. Alisha's mother came to visit on Christmas, as did a couple of aunts.
"Looking back, it all happened for a reason," Main said.
And he's grateful for that. He's grateful for the support of his church, Calvary Chapel of Carson City, and for other blessings.
"I'm thankful for the peace between Alisha's mom and me," he said. "I'm also thankful for the valiant effort of ski patrol and all the doctors who tried to help revive her. And all the people who ever knew her who even so much as said a kind word to her."
But mostly, he's grateful for Alisha.
"It was my job to raise her for 13-plus years," he said. "God called her home after that time. It's been a privilege to be her dad."
Contact Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or at 881-1272.
