The town sank, and after a long period of time ──.
The earth resurfaced, and the ruined town reappeared on the surface.
Eventually, people settled there, and the town regained its vitality.
The inhabitants of the new town found sculptures of people corroded underwater,
believing them to be statues of the gods of this land.
As more people began to worship the statues, a faith was born that revered them as gods.
Those who claimed to hear guiding voices from the statues became the founders of the faith,
and their organization came to dominate the town ──.
Living in the town was a young girl ── she lived happily with her parents.
One day, the girl became fascinated by a statue she found on the outskirts of the town.
It was a statue of a smiling young boy, filled with longing and sorrow.
When she peered into the statue’s eyes, vague images began to form in her mind.
They were memories and emotions that the statue had harbored from its past ──.
In the midst of this torrent, the girl realized that she was the reincarnation of this young boy.
A sudden urge to draw surged within her, and she hurried back home.
According to the town’s laws, it was forbidden to draw the statue.
The girl, however, secretly drew a picture of the statue.
One day, her parents found the hidden drawing.
They reported her, and she was charged with a crime.
The girl asked the priest, “Why can’t we draw pictures of the statue?”
The priest replied, “Because it’s the law.”
No one understood the girl’s anger, doubt, and passion.
Not even her parents.
The girl was exiled from the town and driven into the forest beyond.