Charles sat quietly, allowing Tabitha to speak as she was a young woman who needed to speak her mind and get it out while it was in her mind. It allowed him to understand the emotions she currently struggled with sorting. From what Charles knew of Tabitha, she was a young woman of strong emotions and opinions, but they didn't always come from a sudden burst, but there were thoughts behind them and history to why they were there in the first place.
When the request came, Charles's expression seemed knowing in a lot of ways. Understanding. His eyes focused on hers, catching her look and he reached out, taking hold of the hand she'd inflicted pain upon and then turned it over, "When I use the word 'gifted', Tabitha, it means a lot. I means the weird but also the great potential we have. No one has lived a life free of pain of one kind or another. Experience is not just the greatest teacher, but also the cruelest at times. I cannot say I experienced what you had, Tabitha, but I was not always in a wheelchair."
He reached to take a piece of the aloe branch off his desk and then squeeze the cool liquid onto her palm.
"I am not going to tell you that you need to go out there and make more mistakes, but you need to understand that mistakes are not made intentionally. If they are, they are not an actual mistake. You will continue to make those as I do," he said, "but what I can teach you is how to live in this world and to take what you've learned and see how you can put it to good use. Ever lesson we learn comes with the bitter sting of disappointment but also important knowledge to be gained from it. What I need you to tell me, Tabitha, is what you want to learn."