A divorced 16 year old girl reflects on how the sexual trauma she experienced as a child perpetuates in her relationships with men throughout her life, forcing herself to grow up too early and leaving her starved for affection and love.

In an unlikely encounter, a homeless teenage boy recounts harsh events of his life to a writer. He nonchalantly tells of an employer whose assignments caused him to have permanent physical and mental damage.

A mother's mistakes haunt her. When a man brutalizes her, she accepts his punches as punishment for her sins.

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.

Three months after the death of his wife, a man tries to convince himself that he has not truly suffered a loss, all the while missing his wife more than ever.

While trying to conceive a child, a woman finds a small, apricot-sized hand beneath her mattress. She collects more tiny body parts that she finds around her house.

When a writer and her old writing professor reconvene in a Mexican restaurant one final time before the professor's death, they experience a night of unwanted encounters and unnecessary criticism that leaves the writer with a bitter taste in her mouth.

After accidentally killing a friend's baby, a 35 year old woman tries to find her footing again at her husband's academic conference in Europe—but finds herself struggling with herself and her marriage.

A little girl sits down by her dying grandmother’s bedside to receive an important warning about how she should live her life with the knowledge that death will come to her, too.

An overprotective mother attempts to get her teenage daughter to tell her why she is so upset. In an erratic and panicked conversation, the daughter reveals an unimaginable problem they must tackle together.