Stone Soup Magazine
— A girl brings home her first pet, a crested gecko, carefully observing its colors and movements as it adjusts to its new terrarium.
— A girl tries to save her family's ancient oak tree by climbing into its branches, but fails; later finds solace when a cat makes a home in the fallen logs.
— A girl meets a shelter cat whose piteous call and pale green eyes transfix her, leading to adoption and the naming of Stella.
— A girl reluctantly visits her Japanese American great-grandmother and learns about her imprisonment in internment camps during World War II, discovering untold history.
— A granddaughter and grandfather share quiet tea on the back porch, watching the sunset and listening to the world together in companionable silence.
— Two dogs race across a beach where sunset transforms lake and sand into fiery red, ending with them asleep in the blood-colored landscape.
— A young baseball player faces his last at-bat, trembling with fear, then watches his hit soar out of sight, transforming doubt into victory.
— A single daffodil pushes through snow and mud to bloom, becoming spring's first herald among the winter browns and grays.
— A prose poem explores the color black through a series of sensory images, from crows to horses, culminating in a meditation on loss and racial identity.
— A ten-year-old mariachi violinist battles stage fright before performing a Spanish love song solo at the International Mariachi Conference in Tucson.