Stone Soup Magazine
— A peaceful pond scene transforms when a dead swan is discovered, prompting questions about death, grief, and the aggressive mourning behavior of its companions.
— A young opera-goer finds transcendence not in the spectacle but in the music itself, which becomes a force that balances and sustains her between performances.
— A single yellow leaf spirals down in an autumn forest, becoming a bright spot of color among the brown fallen leaves on a cloudy day.
— A boy living in a North Carolina trailer park befriends a wealthy newcomer who moves into his childhood home, forcing him to confront his past and find belonging.
— A seven-year-old in New Delhi sees street children from her car window and understands for the first time what her mother meant about children dying in the world.
— A girl walks through her empty childhood home one last time before moving, finding comfort in her old cat who shares her reluctance to leave.
— A girl in California gazes into a snow globe's winter scene, imagining the Christmas town inside before returning to the blazing heat outside.
— A boy learns his father must move to California for work, runs away in anger and confusion, then returns home ready to face the separation.
— Every Soul a Star, by Wendy Mass; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: New York, 2008; $15.99 “…the sun will get erased from the sky, the planets will come out...
— Two competitive students challenge each other at chin-ups in a rain-soaked park, pushing past their limits to discover something beyond winning.