The forgotten hallways of the abandoned school in Oakland, Mississippi, stood as silent as they had when we last wandered through them in 2017. The stillness in the air was heavy with the scent of mold and the ghosts of chatter from decades past. Sunlight, the one uninvited guest, streamed through broken windows, casting a mosaic of light and shadow that danced across the faded tile floors. Desks that once anchored young minds now lay overturned, their silent disarray a stark contrast to the structured learning they once supported. Graffiti, a modern imprint on the decaying canvas of history, marked the walls, a testament to the occasional visitor or rebellious local youth seeking a canvas for their voice in the quiet of the town’s forgotten corner.

As we moved through the corridors, a sense of unease settled over us. It was not just the eerie hush of abandonment, but the unsettling discovery of voting records—sheets of paper that fluttered in the soft drafts like fallen leaves, their presence a careless whisper of civic responsibility now neglected. The fact that these documents, once deemed confidential and significant, were now strewn about the detritus of the past seemed an indictment of disregard. In the gymnasium, basketball hoops hung listlessly, their nets tangled and frayed, as if reaching out for the last game that never came. Our footsteps disturbed the dust that was settled on the bleachers, each step a reminder of the ephemeral nature of communal spaces and how quickly they can be relegated to the realm of memories. Leaving the school, the imprint of neglect weighed heavily upon us, the juxtaposition of civic duty and its abandonment echoing in the voting records left behind like an unresolved chord, waiting for a resolution that may never come.