The story "Dayan" is a poignant tale set in a desert village where an elderly woman named Dayan prepares her daughter Malka and grandchildren for an unknown journey, guiding them to safety as they leave in the night.

Helen Chervitz, a Jewish woman who immigrated from Ukraine to Boston in the late 1980s, returned to Ukraine with her husband as American citizens 25 years later.

The text urges readers to focus on the humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border, particularly concerning migrant children in US custody.

This poignant story reflects on family dynamics surrounding the author's parents, particularly his mother, father, and father's second wife, Jean.