The lives of Olivia and Rayden Reed are about to take a captivating turn when a figure from their past reemerges, igniting a whirlwind of emotions and buried secrets. Malia, a woman they once loved and lost, returns after eight long years with a dar...
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"Dad! You're missing the hole! You're bad at aiming!" Meylin shouts at me while I'm attempting to shoot the water gun into the clown's mouth to inflate the balloon. "That's not even the mouth!"
I keep trying to hit the target, but a thought crosses my mind—could this game be rigged? I know my aim has improved since high school. I shoot Meylin a half-smile as I notice the balloon is only partially inflated.
"Did we win anything?" She approaches the booth worker, who gives her a weak smile and gestures towards the small prizes. She had her eyes on the large plush bear, so naturally, she's disappointed. "Well, you aren't that good. So, I guess if I want a bigger one, I'll have to do it myself." I chuckle at her logic.
"To play again, it'll be five dollars or ten tickets," the worker informs us, tossing a ball in the air. Meylin steps up to pay, but I beat her to it. Her mom gave her money, so I didn't have to pay much for her, but obviously, I would. She's my child, and I do take responsibility for that whether her mother expected it or not.
"Watch and learn," she says, grabbing the water gun and aiming it at the clown's mouth. I'm surprised to see her skillful aim, and after a few seconds, the balloon inflates and then pops.
"You've been practicing at a shooting range or something?" I ask, looking down at her in astonishment.
With a big smile on her face, she turns to me and says, "No, the toilet."
"What?" I inquire, laughing a little.
"The toilet. Mama and Rave turned it into a game when I was potty training," she explains as she points to the prize she wants. We start walking away toward the rides.
"Interesting," I reply, intrigued by her revelation. Before I can finish my thought, she leads me over to a bunch of rides. I'm having the time of my life, and I hope she is too.
As we go from one ride to another, she points at a sign and asks, "Dad, what does that say?"
I glance at the sign she's referring to and realize it's a simple word that she should be able to read at her age. "Hmm, that says 'Dinosaur,'" I answer, reading the sign that says, 'Dinosaur Adventure.'
Trying not to show any concern, I smile.
She frowns slightly and then points to another sign. "And that one?"
"That one says 'Butterfly,'" I reply, starting to pick up on the pattern as I read the sign, 'Butterfly Exhibit,' to her.
She looks down and kicks the ground lightly. "Mey, are you having a hard time reading words?"
She nods her head, not wanting to raise it as if she has disappointed me. "Yeah, sometimes the letters get all jumbled up."
I sigh and stop her from walking, kneeling down to her eye level. "Sweetheart, reading can be a bit tricky sometimes. Tell me what happens when you're trying to read."
