Remember how your parents recorded your height on the doorframe year after year to measure your growth spurt

on this selected shorts fiction that does the impossible

charting emotional growth spurt's.

I'm Meg Walitzer. Hold still, I'll get my pencil so we can make note of yours.

You're listening to selected shorts, where our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction

one short story at a time. Rarely do humans get to grow on our own terms. I mean sure we all say that

we want to grow and become better people but if we're left to

our own devices we might just end up on the couch ordering Thai food and binging the entire

season of a beloved Scottish costume drama strong-thied poetic men and kilts.

There are worse ways to go.

But still, if we want to become better people, pressure is often required.

We may have to commit to new experiences that take us out of our comfort zones.

And if we can't find ways to make this happen on our own, maybe a little bit of magic can help things along.

The stories on today's selected shorts are all about growth

aided by some sort of fantastical assistance. The characters in these pieces are

stuck and consciously or not they're looking for something to give them just a little push.

And that nudge comes in the form of magic.

In the first story, a backyard garden presents a young family with a new world of fertility.

And in the second, the afterlife provides a perfect platform for questions about love, commitment,

and the meaning of forever.

Our first piece is by writer Naomi Kritzer.

She's a sci-fi and fantasy author whose titles include

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