loneliness
— A boy meets a strange girl on the beach who believes her mother is a mermaid and nearly leads him to his death trying to join her, but saves him...
— A lonely rich girl befriends a mysterious park dweller named Z, discovering a hidden community that gathers at night, but Z vanishes with spring's arrival.
— A teenager contemplating suicide finds reasons to live in small miracles like birds taking flight and children's first steps, offering her words as a gift.
— When villagers capture wolf pups for companionship, a girl who frees one is granted the power to speak to wolves and must negotiate peace between the species.
— In 1957 Ohio, a lonely girl befriends an elderly Cherokee boarder who brings the first snow in twenty years and teaches her that she is loved.
— A basketball tryout becomes a battleground when a rival sabotages the narrator's chances, but stealing a page from the rival's diary reveals unexpected vulnerability.
— A bored five-year-old on the Titanic wanders below decks, meets a young mechanic who helps her understand her strict governess, and gains a new perspective on their relationship.
— A grieving teenager from New Jersey struggles to adjust to life with her aunt in Alabama until a chance encounter at a lighthouse during a storm offers unexpected comfort.
— A thirteen-year-old realizes his best friend and sister are falling for each other during a boat trip to a diner, then bikes to a neighbor's house seeking new friendship.
— Stranded on an island for five days after wrecking her yacht, Mae survives on crabs and snails while watching distant Fourth of July fireworks spark an unexpected epiphany about life's...