The plane touched down at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport just after noon.

Atlanta welcomed Lynda the same way it always had, loud, restless, and full of motion. The city pulsed with the familiar rhythm of ambition, aeroplanes taxiing endlessly across runways, taxis honking impatiently outside the terminals, voices echoing through crowded walkways.

For years, this energy had excited her.

Now it felt different.

Not unpleasant. Just louder than she remembered.

Lynda walked through the terminal ...