You can sit by a river all day long just to watch what the current carries past. Depending on the day and where you live, it could be small boats with fishermen, young children on inner tubes, paper lanterns lit by candles, or bodies. And the only thing they will have in common is the river itself. The same is true of these stories. They range from a first day at school, to running away from home, to the breaking of feet, to the death of a husband still alive. And all they have in common is me, and what flowed through my mind on the day I wrote them. A Piece of Bread "Did you learn to read?" It's the first day of school for a young girl after the lifting of the Japanese Occupation of Malaysia after World War II. All she wants is to learn to read -- but there's an unfamiliar challenge standing in her way. Floating Petals "When did they break your toes?" The bound feet that have been a blessing all her life threaten to end her life much too soon. They caused her pain and suffering, but gave her love and happiness -- now it's time to make a choice. The Shadow "I panic, I look around, can't find myself." So begins a day in the life of woman's shadow. Homeless Sparrow "Quick! Leave before it's too late." Just ahead of the rumble of machinery that destroys his home, a sparrow unwillingly leaves the nest to find his way in the world -- finding first a window and then a friend. Love Is All You Need "Heard the latest? Our David has brought home a city girl." Take a girl out of the city and you get gossip and a nicer-looking farmhouse. Twenty years later and the girl and the gossip meet again to talk for the first time. Moon "Will you stay?" Moon had met man and didn't want to leave. But there was always her father the Sun and her mother the Rain and a lot of very bad weather to contend with. Somehow they had to reach a compromise. My Gods "We said the 'Our Father' and asked 'Godofmytea' to give us our daily bread." Grandma knew the importance of Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh deities, and Chinese gods -- and not even a man on the moon could shake her faith. Green "Children get lost there." He'd never been allowed to play in the woods as a child, so perhaps that's what compelled him to enter now -- to discover why. The Singeing Shadow "On the prowl again, fine guard dogs they make." Their two dogs were gone, it was night, the baby was asleep, his wife was boiling soup, and the hairs on the back of his neck were on end ... for good reason. Whodunnit "How would you like to do it with me?" he said. "Commit suicide." No suicide hotline needed here -- just a celebration of their first date with a jump off his yacht, or maybe a push. The Couple "Let's go check on our pigs." What else do the ghostly couple do when they're forced to stay on earth? Visit their old home, cause a little havoc among the living, check out the disco, and try to find a way out of here. Running Away "I am ten and my friends smell of fish." Life is pretty good: lizards in the rafters, a mother and father who love her, and friends at school. But then she begins reading for a rich woman and thinks about running away. At The Railway Station "Taxi is here, Ma'am." The early-morning destination is the train station where life is just emerging from its blanket cocoons, ready to start another day on earth. After The Wedding "If he beats you from time to time, it is to show he cares for you." Ancient wisdom from the old woman who lives below the newlyweds. An escape from the farm just leads to a different cage.