After that, they followed the old man who had left the village and continued walking.
The old man said without turning around:
"You must all be wondering where I'm taking you, but don't worry… I couldn't leave because of this place."
As soon as he said these words, the group's curiosity grew: what was this thing they were about to see?
After walking for a while among rocks and trees, the man stopped near a large, strangely shaped rock, and behind him, Mihon and the others stopped. There was nothing visibly different about this place.
Mihon looked at the old man, and the old man looked back at him. The old man said:
"I found this place by chance nine years ago, together with the father of the boy who was kidnapped… You know him. You may see me as a deceiver and a liar — yes, I am — because I couldn't leave this place out of selfishness. Many people on this island have suffered, but what you're about to see will shock you."
After saying these words, he turned and approached that massive rock, and pressed a protruding bump on its side. The rock began to crack open into two halves. At that moment, the shock was clear on everyone's faces.
Once again, the old man turned to them and said:
"You may be asking yourselves: why am I showing you this? Many rebels have passed through this island, but none of them were like you. I don't understand why I'm telling you this either… but come in, and you'll see for yourselves what I mean."
The old man advanced, and Mihon turned toward Youray, Ames, and the Mute Girl, then nodded. He entered, and the others followed.
At the entrance, there were stairs extending forward. As soon as they entered, the rock closed behind them. They began walking down the stairs; the place felt like they were walking straight, but the shock came when they looked behind them… they were looking up! The path was strange and bizarre. On the walls, there were lamps burning with blue and yellow fire, showing different drawings: birds, animals, humans, and strange creatures gathered in one place.
Mihon and the others looked closely at these drawings, but no one stopped, because the man kept walking.
The old man said, gesturing:
"These lamps have been burning for nine years… they never go out. I don't know why or how this fire stays lit, and even I don't know when it first ignited. As for these drawings… aren't they strange?"
Youray asked:
"How did you find this place?"
The old man answered:
"We found it by chance, as I told you. But literally, I wasn't the first to find it — it was that boy's father."
Ames asked:
"So, where did the man go?"
The old man replied:
"He's on an expedition."
"Is he looking for something?"
"Yes… you'll know shortly."
As they neared the end of the stairs, a black door appeared before them. It had scribbles on it, as if something had been erased. The old man pressed a bump on the wall, and the door began to open.
Once the door opened, the man stepped in and the others followed. As soon as they entered, white particles began to fall on them… it was snow falling, but with no noticeable cold. The place was spacious, filled with many things: tables, chairs, and blank sheets of paper.
Youray asked:
"Is this snow?"
The old man replied:
"Yes, it is."
Ames said:
"But where is it coming from? And this snow isn't cold at all."
"Yes, for humans it isn't cold and has no effect. But for other things, it is cold. Look…"
He picked something up from the decaying wooden table beside him, and everyone noticed cold vapor rising from it.
"This place is very strange… how can something like this exist?"
The old man said:
"You haven't seen anything yet. Follow me."
As they walked through a hallway after leaving the wide room, a group of statues appeared before them. These statues represented terrifying creatures lined up on both sides. The further they walked, the uglier the creatures became. All of them bore an "X" mark on their foreheads, had wings like bats, and faces so hideous that if a pregnant woman saw them, her baby would leap from her womb from the horror.
Everyone's faces showed signs of shock at the ugliness of the scene.
The most affected was the Mute Girl, whose face turned green.
After walking a bit further in the corridor, a side door appeared. The old man approached and opened it, and a sound of iron scraping rang out as if centuries had passed over the door.
As soon as he opened it, many statues appeared before them. But these statues were of young children, all sitting on stone chairs, each with a stone table in front of them, and on the table was a small board with some writings. Each statue held a stone pen.
Mihon and the others entered the room. Mihon approached a statue of a nearby girl and began to read what was written in front of her:
"We've waited for you so long. Why haven't you appeared yet?"
As soon as Mihon read this sentence, the sound of wind swept through the room, the roar of thunder echoed, the world flipped upside down, and places shifted. The hall began to change. Youray, Ames, the Mute Girl, and the old man vanished — only he remained.
But the room was no longer as it had been… the statues had become real. The atmosphere changed, and all the children began to move; they were writing on the stone boards before them.
The girl in front of Mihon had a blank board, and suddenly she began to write, while tears streamed down her pure white cheeks:
---
"We've waited for you so long. Why haven't you appeared yet?
Were you truly the promised one, or were we merely deceived by hope?
We said you would come… when the darkness deepens, when the earth narrows despite its vastness, when screams fall silent and all abandon us, we said you would come…
Like dawn rising from the depths of night, like fire born from the ashes of patience, we said he would come…
But you didn't.
Did you lose your way?
Did you break your promise?
Or are you standing there, watching us silently?
Testing our ability to remain faithful to belief in you despite your absence?
You, who were said to be the savior, the banner that never falls, the pain that rests when you appear — has your time not come yet?
We have nothing but waiting, O Santa Claus, and we know nothing but to believe, despite everything, that you will return…
So if you come, don't bring gifts — bring something of peace.
And tell us the miracle is not dead yet."