The sun loitered lazily above Middle School, casting a golden syrup of light on the freshly paved grounds and newly refurbished buildings. Linsy stood quietly beneath the shadow of the old banyan tree near the south gate, the same tree that had watched her cry silently behind the school infirmary more than a decade ago. Her heels clicked softly against the stone pathway, but her mind floated in a fog, dragging her feet toward a place both sacred and haunting.

This Minglang middle school had ...