Blue Star, Rongxi Primary School.
School let out for the day. The first-graders stood obediently in a line, following their homeroom teacher toward the school gate.
A crowd of parents stood outside the gate. As the students emerged with their teacher, the parents stood on their tiptoes, peering into the school grounds to find their children.
"Mommy." Zhou Tongtong, her hair tied in a bun, spotted her mother and immediately raised a small, fair hand to wave.
Standing outside the gate, Xia Qing saw her daughter waving and smiled, waving back. Then, with the teacher's permission, Zhou Tongtong broke from the line and ran toward her mother.
"Mommy, look at this." Having reached Xia Qing, Zhou Tongtong pulled an object the size of a pigeon's egg from her school uniform pocket.
"Where did you get this pebble?" Xia Qing asked, looking at the black pebble in her daughter's small, clean hand.
