At a monk retreat, a guilty pharmacist tries to reclaim his attention span—and take accountability for what he has done.

In a future where technology has advanced to the point where humans can undergo "optimization" to rid themselves of emotions and increase their mental functions, one man decides to cling to his humanity in an effort to atone for his sins and appreciate the beauty of being human.

A professor tries to convey to his students the magnitude of the most perfectly crafted poem ever written in the English language: “Lycidas.”

A man who unknowingly talks to himself wonders why a woman who is satisfied with her marriage is having an affair with him.

In Michigan, a recently divorced professor reflects on what it means to exist, first alone in his empty apartment and then alongside his student in a mission to find a missing girl.

As a woman slips in and out of sleep, her dreams become windows to moments in her life.

A writing critic reviews the construction of Charles Chesnutt’s stories and how to write surfiction.

A woman meticulously and obsessively reflects on the vanishing of her sister.

In the depths of his mind, a writer tries to uncover the autonomous, nefarious motivations of his own characters.

A woman considers her possible shortcomings when her boyfriend tells her that he doesn’t like some things about her. After a period of reflection, she acknowledges the futility of self-deprecation.