Aura, IL

'I have to prove to Daddy that Mommy's still alive!" Ryan (8) keeps pestering his big sister, until finally she buys him a bus ticket. He doesn't want his father to remarry. His father is on a business trip; in the vast cornfields of Central Illinois, Ryan has only 4 days to find the evidence. In St. Louis, Crystal (17) fails to kill herself, again. Her father is absent from her life; she can't understand her mother. Crystal's only goal in life is to die beautifully, like a princess. In Chicago, Scott (27) is diagnosed with cancer. He has treatments and his doctor says he's now cured. But the fear of his own death prevents him from proposing to his girlfriend. In Aura, IL, Eliora writes. An 80-year old Holocaust survivor who lost her husband years ago. She waits for God to take her too. Her mind is fading, and, as her everyday task, her habit from the dark past returns to her. Ryan's encounter with Crystal and Scott. Their accidental visit to Eliora's house. Endless cornfields. The sunset. The books. Would near-death experiences of Crystal, Scott, and Eliora make them perfect mentors for Ryan? Suppose you knew the date of your death; would that solve anything?