WINTER RESPITE FOR FAMILIES TOUCHED BY AIDS.

Byline: Lisa Lytle Orange County Register

Her twin braids flying, her cheeks flushed with exhilaration, Emilie Saleh jumped off the ice and spun in the air. After landing deftly, the Costa Mesa 11-year-old - a fan of figure skater Michelle Kwan - grinned and sped off to practice other moves.

Emilie's winter wonderland became real when she was among the 23 kids at Snow Camp '96 one recent weekend.

But Emilie is far from typical.

Every day, she is a witness to her mom Denise Saleh's battle with AIDS.

Her camp peers ages 9-17 have one thing in common: Each has an immediate family member - usually a parent - who either is HIV-positive or has AIDS or has died of AIDS complications.

Two of her friends at the camp, the Luino sisters, Christina, 11, and Natalie, 9, of La Palma, know what Emilie is going through: They lost their father to AIDS in 1994.

The weekend was designed to give these children a fun-filled break with others who have similar experiences, said Donna Fleming, director of social services for the AIDS Services Foundation/Orange County, which hosted the event.

"It's a chance for them to get away from home and be with other kids from whom they don't need to hide the fact that their parent has HIV," Fleming said.

Fleming and camp counselors planned the stuff of pure escape: sledding, scaling a chimney, a bake-off, a snow-sculpture contest, a "funky formal" dance and a pajama party.

But when Emilie, Christina and Natalie return home, winter wonderland will melt under the heat of reality.

"Are you going to die?"

That was the first question Emilie asked after her mom told her several years ago that she had AIDS.

"I started to cry," Saleh said. "And she cried. She didn't ask a lot of questions for one or two years. I told her not to tell anyone because I didn't want her to be discriminated against."

Emilie began to ask questions about two years ago. "I was confused about the virus," she said. "I thought it was like a cold that would just go away."

Now Emilie knows AIDS can claim her mother any day.

For the Saleh family, these days are precious because Denise frequently feels tired. "We go to the movies," Emilie said. "We play at home. Mom tickles me."

Sometimes, when her mother is feeling drained or weak, Emilie said she goes just with her dad to the movies or to the park.

"It is difficult for Emilie because in the original group of children at the Kids' Club, she is the only child left whose parent with AIDS is still living," Saleh said, watching her daughter board the bus for camp.

"Guess what? I've done 60 laps," Natalie said breathlessly, looking like a pixie skater in a neon lime beanie.

For the moment Natalie is every bit the child she ought to be - carefree, playful and happy.

But ask about their father and his death from AIDS complications and Natalie and her sister Christina seem startlingly older than their years.

"Give your dad a kiss 'cause you might not see him again."

As Natalie tells it, this is what mom said before they left for camp in September 1994. It was the last time they saw their father. "He was very sick then," Natalie said. "Five days before he died, it was my birthday."

After Christina's teachers found out her father had AIDS, she said some of them changed toward her. "They treated me like a piece of dirt. They were afraid I had AIDS, too," she said. "I had one teacher who told me to move to the back as far away from her as possible. She was nice to me before she found out my dad had AIDS."

But their dad's death has planted in them seeds of advocacy. They continue to attend the Kids' Club, meeting with other children to talk about their experiences. Christina said, "We still want to come because we want to help others who are now going through what we went through."