In a shack near the beach, a retired shopkeep plays the most masterful game of chess anyone will have known against a man from Brussels who is known for little more than his dreadlocks and his cheer.
At a university library, surrounded by chattering peers and the clacking of keys, a female student realizes she'd rather spend her life growing potatoes and raising pigs, but the dream is dashed when she realizes shes too pretty for that, and no one would understand.
At a highly publicized games tennis tournament in London, two ball boys play the most intense match of the season, their weary, wiry forms dashing up and down the field, their footfalls echoing off of the empty bleachers. No one will have seen it, but they are both too sweaty and satisfied to pay heed.
In New Zealand, a fire destroys a small cabin, ending the life of a wizened old man and his favorite sheepdog. His novel burns, page by page. No digital copies exist. It would have been a cornerstone of 21st century literature.
In a small harbor in the Maritimes, a young boy finds a bottle washed ashore. Inside is a note, and a Polaroid picture of a happy little girl making a sand castle. The girl will have died years ago of a broken hip, the boy doesn't know this, and smiles as he works through the sounds of the note, mouthing the words slowly.
In a tent in the mountains, a happy couple does things they know they wouldn't dare do at home. They cry, not because they are sad or afraid, but because it feels so good to be themselves. Their parents think the boys are fishing.
In a field in Greece, the soft whistle of the grasses emulates a tune that will not be put on paper for another hundred years, but was once fancied by a minstrel in the French court, decades ago. It has no name, then or ever.
In a diner in Texas, a 40 something war vet stands and leaves as an Arabic family enters. His peers mutter under their breath about racism and shell shock. They don't see the note on the table, the only open table, that reads "I'm so sorry" and rests upon a hundred dollar bill, or his coffee steaming, untouched.
In a quiet apartment in Toronto, a delivery man dons his worn robe, and slouches into his dusty old recliner. The TV takes a minute to flicker on. The newscaster announces the breaking news of the hour, not telling any of the important stories.
