The little girl stuck her finger in mouth. Something felt different. When she touched her bottom teeth, one of them moved. Cali looked at her face in the bathroom mirror. Her teeth were all there, but that front one on the bottom looked funny. “Aunt Lisa!” she called. Cali lived with her aunt and uncle. “My tooth looks strange!”

Her aunt joined her and looked in her mouth. “Don’t worry,” said Aunt Lisa. “You have a loose tooth. That means you are growing up!”

“I don’t know if I like that,” said Cali. She loved the idea of growing up, but thinking about one of her teeth coming out make her feel a little anxious. “Then I will have a hole in my head.” That seemed strange.

Cali’s uncle walked by and stopped when he saw them. “Cali, my dear, you already have a few of those! Think about your ears and your nose and your mouth. One tiny baby tooth won’t make much difference. Do you want me to pull it out for you?” laughed Uncle George. “Then it would be gone in a flash! Maybe I should tie a string (细线) around it, tie the other end to the door and slam it?” he asked.

“That’s a terrible idea, Uncle George!” Cali yelled.

“What if we get our dog to play tug-of-war (拔河) with you, but you use your mouth like he does? Then your tooth would pop out!” suggested her uncle.

“Maybe I’ll just leave it in for a while,” decided Cali. Having enough of her uncle’s crazy plans, she felt a little anxious about her loose tooth and she immediately ran to Aunt Lisa who was cutting up an apple into slices in the kitchen. The little girl picked up an apple slice and bit into it. It was sweet and juicy.

As she crunched (嚼) into it, Cali felt something strange.

I wouldn’t say that my sister Thika and I were particularly close. I was the naive little one, while she appeared to me to be walking on water—She was literally the symbol of perfection, and I wanted to be just like her. If she wore her hair in twin ponytails with a blue clip one day, I would do the same with mine the following day. I used to follow her and her friends around and beg to be included, but a thirteen-year-old’s life doesn’t really have much space for a bother so me ten-year-old sister. Over time, my admiration for her turned into indifference. Living in the same apartment as strangers, we shared meals but barely spoke to one another.

I was so unconcerned when she informed me last year that she would be spending eight months studying abroad in Lisbon, Portugal. I assumed I’d get to use her CD player and wear the dresses she left behind. That was the only way I thought her leaving would affect me.

I sat in my room that first evening after she departed and tried to finish my assignment. I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something was wrong, something was missing. The apartment was far too silent. Both Thika’s CD player and her voice giggling on the phone with her friends were absent. As I sat there, I became acutely aware of how different life was without her. Even though we didn’t always talk, just having her there made me feel secure.

I sobbed that evening. We wasted years trying to live our own lives and overlooking each other’s, and that made my heart ache. I sobbed that I did not even give her a hug before she boarded her plane. But as the night went on, my sobs turned into tears of peace, tears of new beginnings.

I picked up the phone and called her halfway across the world.

For a long time there was nothing but silence on the other end.

Father’s Day was in two weeks. I didn’t know what to get Dad. Last year I made him a photo album. This year I wanted to do something different.

At dinner, Dad accidentally dropped his favorite blue tie into his soup bowl. The tie was ruined. I suddenly knew what to get Dad for Father’s Day!

“How much does a tie cost?” I asked Mom the next morning.

“Depends,” she said.“ Some can cost twenty dollars. Do you have enough money. Carter?”

“No, ” I said sadly.

When I got to my room to change into my school clothes I noticed a hole in my shirt.

“Mom, I need you to sew(缝补) my shirt, I said loudly, rushing out the door to the school bus.

At school I picked at the hole in my shirt. I thought about how I could come up with enough money to buy a tie. I took a deep sigh, and played with the hold some more. As the hole grew in size, an idea sprung into my mind.

After coming home from school, I dug through my closet trying to find other worn clothes.

“Mom! "I yelled down the hall heading towards her.

Can I cut these clothes up to make Dad a patchwork(拼缝) tie for Father’s Day?” I pointed out the holes to Mom.

“ I guess,” he said.

“And,” I added, “Can you show me how to sew and make tiny stitches(针脚)?”

“Yes, Carter. Let s start now before Dad gets home.” Mom said, heading for her sewing supplies.

I followed Moms instructions and started making a patchwork tie. I gently pressed my foot on the foot pedal(缝纫机脚踏板) . Suddenly, the needle stopped and the machine made a horrible sound. “No!” I said.

“Try again, Carter, ” Mom instructed.

I took a deep breath and gently applied the pedal again. Unluckily, I failed again.

“Forget it! I can’t do this!” I cried and went to my room.

On Father’s Day I handed Dad a small box.