childhood
— A seventh grader sneaks out at midnight to her childhood faerie circle and witnesses real faeries dancing under the full moon, who spell her name in daisies and leave her...
— Walking past the abandoned Finster house at dusk, a nine-year-old sees a ghostly figure in the window, only to discover it's a renovation crew preparing the Underground Railroad site for...
— A girl recounts thirteen years with her beloved Barbadian babysitter Juan, from their first meeting through the bittersweet day Juan stops working for the family.
— On the last day of eighth grade, seven best friends release a balloon with a wish to stay friends forever, as they face separation for high school.
— Two childhood friends are separated when their families move to different states, then reunite by chance years later at college in Chicago.
— A girl dreams she's flying as a butterfly on Halloween night, then wakes to find she's wearing the same costume in real life.
— A five-year-old's fragmented memories of September 11th capture confusion through misheard words and the sudden absence of the towers.
— A boy waits in line at a shaved ice stand, observing others' pleasure before experiencing his own first taste of Gushing Grape.
— A child chases a butterfly through morning grass, stumbling but persisting until one finger brushes its wing before it flies away.
— Two sisters race across neighboring lawns, the older rediscovering the pure joy of running barefoot through grass on a summer day.