death
— A girl faces her aunt's terminal illness through the metaphor of a falling bomb while a mourning dove sits motionless on their roof, refusing to move.
— A dying man in a retirement home reflects on his life's losses—a friend's death, a failed marriage, and the changing nature of chess—while watching a cherry tree bloom.
— Katrina's life changes when she befriends Mr. McCumber, a lonely old man, and later finds herself in an orphanage where she forms a chosen family with other orphaned girls.
— A father and daughter discover a dead bird at dusk and create an impromptu funeral with autumn leaves, watching as wind carries both leaves and spirit away.
— A leaf contemplates the community rule that all leaves must eventually fall, resisting until witnessing a tree being cut down transforms fear into understanding.
— A spoiled rich man loses everything when his parents die, struggles to find work, and eventually creates a program to help homeless people become rideshare drivers.
— A 10-year-old recounts the day she had to put down Cody, her elderly pet rat, six months after losing his brother Spencer.
— A girl contemplates a memorial tree in a park, questioning whether the deceased would have wanted this tribute, then waters the drought-stricken willow and later finds it transformed.
— A struggling painter's work is stolen by a famous artist, leading to betrayal by her husband and society, ending in tragedy.
— An ambassador without mind or face sits in a walled place, contemplating his non-existence and the walls that might have hope where he has none.