Short Story by Paz Marquez Benitez. Set in a culture and time where honor outweighs love, a young lawyer delays marrying his fiancé because it doesn’t feel right. Although he falls in love with another woman, he keeps his word, marries the fiancé, and dreams of the other.
Grade 7-8 Story by Jane Bauer. This story about the healing power of memories contrasts two families: one brought closer through tragedy and the need to work together to secure their future, the other torn apart by a silly misunderstanding and too stubborn to make the first move towards reconciliation.
Quick Read by Lydia Davis. Some people have a knack for remembering things. However, most of us forget more than we remember. Here, Davis takes a playful look at memory (or rather lack of it!), and moves on to memories and their relationship to original thought.
Short story by Doris Lessing. An eleven-year-old boy on a seaside holiday watches local teenage boys dive from rocks and navigate their way through a long underwater tunnel. Determined to match the dangerous feat and prove he is no longer a child, he practices for several days before trying himself.
Short Story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. An ageing scientist invites four friends to participate in an experiment ostensibly designed to test the efficacy of waters from the famed fountain of youth. It is probable that the experiment had a different thesis, which is proved by the behavior of the guests.