The White Olive Tree

Chapter 1

The day Song Ran met Li Zan was an ordinary day.

June 3rd, in the city of Ale, located in the north-central part of Dongguo, seemed just like any other day.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Song Ran opened the window of her hotel room, and downstairs, a north-south street led to a primary school at the end. The buildings on both sides of the road were short and flat, with various residential houses scattered among the trees.

Looking out, the street appeared dull, with paper scraps and fallen leaves left unattended. However, the sky was blue, and the sunlight was radiant. In the restaurant downstairs, a young mother wearing a headscarf and black robes sat at a table with her little son, having breakfast. The restaurant owner stood behind the counter, cutting and grilling meat while flipping pancakes. The aroma of grilled meat, boiled beans, and pancakes wafted through the street.

Across the street, in a repair shop, several middle-aged men had already pushed their motorcycles to the front, chatting animatedly with the repairman in a language Song Ran couldn't understand. A distant horn sounded as a bus stopped by the roadside, and a group of school children in uniforms poured out, chattering as they ran towards the school. The bus driver rolled down his window, exchanging a few words with the patrolling police officer.

Everything seemed the same as every other day, yet somehow different. The local diner was still open, but KFC had long closed its doors; the dental clinic was open, but the cellphone store had been shut for over a week. A poster on the door showcased a new model of a Chinese phone brand, tattered and flapping in the morning breeze. A stray dog curled up in a pile of old newspapers in a corner. The glass display window of the adjacent clothing store was also covered in a layer of dust, faintly revealing two mannequins inside—one in a black robe with a covered head, the other in a white shirt and a floral skirt. 

The morning breeze swept through the fallen leaves and paper scraps, unable to disturb the stillness of the skirt inside the motionless display window. Song Ran sighed inexplicably, a faint sense of melancholy settling in her heart, much like the dusty glass.

This was her last day in this country. Her overseas assignment would conclude today, and she would soon be heading back. The journey from Ale to the capital— Gamma, would take four hours by car, and her flight back home was scheduled for eleven o'clock at night.

Leaning against the window, she scrolled through her phone, checking the discussions happening in her home country.

It was afternoon in China, and netizens were discussing topics like celebrity infidelity and the most beautiful tofu beauties. It was already eight-thirty local time, and it was time to pack up.

She had just folded her tripod when the floor beneath her suddenly shook, as if an earthquake had struck. But it wasn't an earthquake.

She grabbed her camera, switched it on, and rushed to the window.

In the sky, a thunderous explosion echoed. However, the world outside the window appeared unchanged, with people on the street looking up like a group of bewildered geese. Soon, another loud noise followed, one after another—it was artillery fire.

War had begun.

The street instantly erupted, with people shouting loudly and scrambling in all directions. Song Ran, with her camera, tripod, and communication devices on her back, rushed to the rooftop. Gazing into the wasteland outside the city, she couldn't see any armies, but the artillery kept roaring. It was the city of Haru, dozens of kilometers northeast of Ale, where one of her male colleagues was stationed.

The mobile signal was cut off. The first step of the war was to destroy the communication towers.

Song Ran set up her equipment and activated the satellite phone. After a few attempts, she managed to connect and quickly informed about the situation in her home country: "Government forces and anti-government militants are at war outside Haru City. How's the situation on your end?"