Show someone mercy (from Curly Red)
When Lili Rose was “thirteen”, her own dad sent her “into exile” and “refused to speak” to her “for twenty seven years.” He didn’t allow her to return to their house too. Even when “Grandma died,” she had to stand “at a distance.” “Only in the final months of his life,” when her dad was “weakened with emphysema and the anger leaked from him,” was she “allowed to return to help Mama sometimes.” Mom “needed” her. The irony of the situation is that Lili Rose’s family chooses to punish her, though she is absolutely blameless. She didn’t make her bothers to kill that boy just because they could, so why should she be blamed and punished?
The one to blame (from Curly Red)
Lili Rose thought that “Mom had forgiven” her, but she wasn’t sure. Those years, she’d avoided her, “saying her heart was broken.” Lili Rose couldn’t help asking, “Well, what of my heart?” She had “given up explaining” because “no one cared.” The whole situation was ridiculous! The most ironic part was that no one really thought what Lili Rose felt. They wanted to put such a great burden on her and made her carry it in silence. His honesty was considered a weakness.
An animal whisperer (from Happiness)
Nedra had been always “pushy”, she wasn’t going to stay in a car and wait for her sister to return like an obedient and frightened child. She wanted to have a look at what was in that notorious house even though she was scared of both a black dog under the porch and the family that lived there. To calm down the dog, the girl started cooing, “Mick! Good dog! Don’t be afraid! It is just Nedra.” She repeated her own name as if she was “God’s gift to animals.” The irony of this situation is that Nedra realizes the absurdity of her own words and actions.
