loss

Story·Alice Mar-Abe, age 11 — A girl's beloved neighborhood market closes, teaching her through the owner's wisdom about accepting change while cherishing memories.

Story·Sariel Nana Friedman, age 10 — A girl visits the family's summer cottage while her father is at war, discovering she can feel joy even amid sadness when her brother lifts her over the waves.

Story·Emily Livaudais, age 11 — A girl moves to Iceland after her parents die, discovers her grandmother once lived there, and finds comfort in a special doll her grandmother arranged for her to receive.

Story·Natalie Schuman, age 11 — 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.

Story·Grace McNamee, age 13 — An eleven-year-old girl travels from Ohio to Pennsylvania with the father she hasn't seen since age two, slowly uncovering the truth about their separation.

Story·Erik Dinardo, age 13 — A grieving man revisits places he shared with a lost child, finding each location abandoned or changed, until a ray of light breaks through.

Story·Isabel Folger — A grieving man revisits places he once shared with a child, finding them empty and changed, until a ray of light breaks through.

Story·Lyla Lawless, age 13 — A twelve-year-old girl devastated by moving from Rockville to Springfield finds hope in a letter left by the previous occupant of her new room.

Story·Kevin Wang, age 11 — Two boys visit their favorite river where one confronts his pain over his parents' divorce, leading to a dramatic rescue and deepened friendship.

Story·Emily Waxman, age 10 — A girl prepares for prom in 1946, wearing a dress made from her brother's WWII parachute, reflecting on family sacrifice and finding beauty in hardship.