.::sweetness::.

                 “I’m failing,” she said miserably.
                   Her father leaned back in his chair, mouth pursed. He didn’t say anything, but she knew he wasn’t pleased. A long silence resounded as neither of them spoke – her, out of shame, and him, out of uncertainty. He tipped the chair back on two legs for a moment, balancing, then brought them back down again.
                 “What else is there to do?” he asked at last. “I’ve tried to help you with the math.”
                  She shrugged, and stared at the floor between her feet. “I don’t know. I can’t really keep things straight these days. It’s almost as if –” she paused, keeping the illogical sentence from tumbling forth: It’s almost as if I have no left brain. It’s almost as if a part of me is dying every day I wake up.
                   There was another silence, but a warmer one. The two, side by side in the dimly lit kitchen, were both alone in their thoughts. Her father reached over and put a hand over hers, and then withdrew as he stood to clear the plates from the table. She remained still as a statue, numb and quiet. Her father went outside to pump water to wash the plates. At the sound, she looked up, but continued to stay where she was. It seemed wasted energy to move. When her father finished with the plates, he returned inside and leaned against the kitchen cabinets watching her. Suddenly, he reached into a drawer and brought out a small dark package. He tore it open, and looked bemusedly at the contents. “Want to know what the best way to eat m-and-m’s is?” he asked, one side of his mouth crooked in that funny, comforting smile.
                    She shook her head, and rested her chin into her hands, watching him. He tipped the colorful candies into his palm, and then with one swift motion, dumped them all into his mouth. She laughed, and was suddenly a little girl again. “No!” she protested grinning. She always liked to separate them into their colours. “No, that’s not how you do it!”
                    “Mmm-hmm!” he argued, his mouth full. And with that, he went outside to tend the barn, chuckling under his breath. She got up from the table and put on her boots by the door, happily running to join him.