A young boy grows up avoiding his abusive mother and idolizing two men in his life: his father and a boy in his class. But when both of his heroes betray him, he turns to his mother for comfort.

After her son dies, a mother reckons with the grandson he left behind.

The impact of an absent father emerges in the gruesome stories of a young daughter as her alcoholic mother listens and reflects on the struggles of raising her alone.

A teacher in Washington tries to comfort one of his students—an orphan who is dying from a chronic disease—opting to be her guardian for the summer even in the face of her looming, imminent death.

A child chained in a cellar abused by their enraged parents decides to take matters into their own hands.

A teenager learns how to cope with the premature loss of his father. Through a newly developed relationship with his uncle, he discovers a new version of his father he wasn't privy to during his life.

A traumatic incident changes a boy's baby brother, straining relationships within the boy's family as a whole.

A young boy uses his mystical but threatening power for good when the girl next door needs his help.

A young man remembers his sexual trauma while idly watching the torturing of a kidnapped kid.

In 2003, a boy's father disappears leaving him feeling empty and confused. Years later, the son finds a portal and he believes he has found a clue to his father's disappearance, but has to ponder the implications of his discovery.