Chapter Three: The Mansion That Ate His Home

The room tilted. That was the house where Lin had grown up. Before his father died, he had planted a jujube tree in the courtyard. Marks on the doorframe recorded Lin’s height from age seven to sixteen. Lin called his mother. “Mom, what happened to our house on Locust Tree Lane?” “What house? We always rented. Your father never left us property.” “The jujube tree in the yard?” She paused. “Are you working too hard?” Two hours later, Lin stood in Liuxi County. Locust Tree Lane remained, but number 17 had become a narrow passage. The walls fit together seamlessly, as though a courtyard had never occupied the space. A young woman in dark glasses turned toward him. Her white cane tapped the ground. “You remember a house here too?” she asked.