Above the Morning Sun

Top: Yan Yuanqing Bottom: Lin Yan When Yan Yuanqing was sixteen, he met his own sun. In a shadowy alley off Bar Street, the boy lifted his head, blood smeared across his face and his lips pressed tight. Yet his eyes held a pride no one could crush. Step by step, he firmly walked out of the dark corner hemmed in by buildings and toward the dim yellow glow beneath a streetlamp. Yan helped the boy pick up the student ID card that had fallen out of the alley. The boy in the photo had a solemn expression and delicate features. His name was Lin Yan. One glance was all it took. Yan never forgot him after that.