The secrets of lives not shared, not taken, not known, all can be found in the eclectic fiction of author Charles Payseur. A sentient star deals with the trauma of their binary partner having collapsed into a black hole, and gets a little inspiration from the intrepid humans that happen by; a lumberjack must weigh his own safety and comfort against the lives of the dryads whose bodies and blood could buy him the life he desires; a young man deals with the loss of his fathers in a future where cold has claimed much of the globe; on a special holiday, people gather to burn their burdens from the previous year, unknowing if they'll return again with the next day; and on a ship maintained by cats and powered by ectoplasmic energies, the Emperor of All Things has died, and a young man is given a very unique opportunity.