These stories were written during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020-21, when we all needed something hopeful to look forward to in our own lives. The stories focus mainly on people down on their luck, but who are given one last chance at love and happiness, and in some cases at life itself. Whether it's a recently homeless and lonely man who meets various people during an outing to a bird sanctuary, a compassionate circus elephant caretaker who finds love in an unexpected way, teenaged twin girls who discover something about their lives is not what it seems, or a small child found on a bus late one night, there is something for everyone in this imaginative collection. These well-written stories are emotional, suspenseful and often take a sudden and unexpected "left turn", surprising the reader. This is Ms. Boxerman's second volume of short stories. Her first book is entitled Unexpected Encounters.