"Why?
"Why do the leaves turn red? They…just do."
"Why?"
"Because the chlorophyll in them…stops working."
"Why?"
"Because that's what it does in the fall."
"Why?"
"I don't know why! Because I said so, that's why."
"Mama," Nikolai complained.
"For heaven's sake, I don't know. Take it for what it is."
"Fine," the boy pouted. The two walked along the sidewalk in silence.
"Aren't the leaves pretty?"
"Yes, mama." The resounding crunch beneath their feet accompanied them down the road. Nikolai picked one up and broke a piece off.
"Why is it crackly and not smooth?"
"That's what happens when it falls off the tree. It dries up."
"Why?"
"It doesn't get any more water."
"Why?"
"Because it's not attached to the tree."
"Why?"
"Because it fell off."
"Why?"
Irina sighed.
"Aren't the leaves pretty, Nikolai?"