There are so many stories.

The lady who speaks to us about being homeless on the streets of Santa Monica. One day, she's cooking for celebrities. The next, she's on the streets, looking for food.

The 5-year-old boy who gets a new costume for Halloween. In the dimly lit strip mall parking lot, he shows it off to us. It's dark, but you can see his eyes light up behind the construction paper Robin mask.

The new mom who cradles her precious baby boy. She does it with ease, confidence and tenderness, and you marvel that she hasn't been doing this her whole life.

The warmth in the apartment on an early Autumn night. It doesn't come from a fireplace, a cup of tea or a bowl of soup, but the visit of a little brother we've missed so much.

One by one, the stories unfold. And here I am, trying to catch them.