The children don't understand.The sweets they pine for are not squeezed from the machine with stripes intact. No—they must be painted on, by hand, with so much care. It is almost unimaginable, the care.My partner is a sweet turner. He holds the sweet and turns it. I apply the stripes. He is my partner. But also, we are in love.We work and live in the Cormack Candy Factory. Our region is Green Region 3, where sweets are painted and nuts are shelled. At day's end, we sweep up the shells, lay down blankets, and sleep.Mr. Cormack is a powerful man. He is a great and a terrible man. A generous man,