Told from the bench’s plain, wise point of view, this is a small-town elegy and a love letter to the people who notice. When bureaucracy and grief threaten to erase their lives, a community learns that sitting still can become an act of resistance.

A boy follows his cat into a magical market that trades in feelings. After trading away his shame to reclaim a keepsake, he must decide whether to keep his memories—even the painful ones—or hand them over.