A sister and her half-brother are suspicious when the boy's father, who was a heroin addict, returns home for a visit. The father's relapse throws their relationship into chaos, but then he bestows a unique gift on the children before he leaves.

In a world where mushrooms feed on creativity, an under-appreciated artist undergoes a risky operation to replace his dying inner voice. But when the first transplant fails, he must find another donor, or risk being banished from society forever.

A slice of grim parts of life

A man working at a home for disabled folks reflects on a day in his life.

Four teenage boys escape the Brooklyn summertime heat at their local swimming pool. After their swim, the boys are ravenous, and they imagine all the foods they'd like to eat.

Brought together by strange Kool-Aid, a bunch of kids reflect on their respective griefs.

A war correspondent recounts meeting Corporal Cuckoo, who has been alive for over four centuries and holds what he believes is the secret recipe to eternal life.

The characters in violent commercials realize they can resist their dark fates, and they rise up against the consumer establishment.

When a worker at a grocery store witnesses a man's arm get severed while attempting to grab a watermelon, it reminds him of an old story during slavery where a watermelon was the symbol of a blessing.

In the near future, an immortal Black woman misses the only person she's ever loved: the woman who created the immortality drug alongside her. Only one of them had decided to take it.