Years passed.
The teenagers grew older.
Some left the village for a time. Some returned. A few stayed away. But all of them remembered the lake.
They remembered the elder's question.
Would you still recognize yourselves afterward?
The lake did not change much. It stayed deep and still. From a distance, it looked like any other body of water. But everyone in the village knew it was not ordinary.
Sometimes visitors came.
Travelers heard stories. They asked if the lake held power. If it could grant strength. If it could change a person.
The villagers always gave the same answer.
"It gives back what you bring to it."
Most visitors did not understand. A few did.
Once in a while, someone tried to test it.
A young man, angry after losing a trade deal, stood at the edge and shouted into the water. The surface moved slightly. The air felt heavier. He stepped back on his own.
