The family was an oddity, Taegen noticed. Disciplined, orderly and peaceful—totally unlike their fellow villagers. There were no outbursts of anger, no loud arguments. They did not partake of the vices engaged…
Kassia’s mother passed away when she was young, setting off a series of consequences in the young girl’s life. Beyond dealing with the grief of losing her mother, Kassia was forced to…
Dozens of voices jumbled together as men, women and children patiently waited to be seen by one of the workers stationed at the front of the line. In those workers’ hands, and…
Palila glanced at her three children, and her mind welled with worries that they would not be able to receive a proper education. Though her husband worked hard as a daily laborer…
Everyone depended on Adalina. Adalina’s bedridden husband depended on her for care and relief from an unidentified illness. Their two daughters depended on Adalina’s earnings to provide food and tuition. Adalina’s aging…
The faces of 32-year-old Birte and her husband, Toran, bore fear and worry. News of Birte’s pregnancy should have brought excitement, but the past haunted them. Birte had already given birth to…
The mosquitoes that buzzed outdoors brought no comfort to Seafra’s family. For the 50-year-old father of four who farmed for a living, he knew that he had two options: He could use…
With two older sisters married, 18-year-old Sigrid was the baby of the family and well loved by her family and by her sisters’ in-laws. When she fell ill with a severe cough…
Hajime longed for a wheelchair. His independence had been stripped away from him after becoming paralyzed from the waist down. He needed people to carry him whenever he needed or wanted to…
Sesen lived with her husband, Hachirou, and their three children in a small village. To survive, the family relied on the meager income generated from Hachirou’s job as a plumber and Sesen’s…
