-------------------------MARIA'S POV-------------------------------
"It's time to clean the temple again," I said as I walked with a wooden bucket full of water and a well-worn cloth.
Walking towards the temple, I could hear the voices of others talking behind me.
"Look at her going back to that dying temple to clean it again, how poor she is, having to clean that place just because of her father." A woman laughed, speaking with a tone of pity and mockery.
As she walked along the path, more and more people started talking, but that didn't shake Maria's pace for a second.
Maria is already used to fallacies because after her father passed away, she is fulfilling his last wish to take care of the temple of the god of spring, a god who abandoned this world a long time ago.
But her father, as a devout believer in the god of spring, asked her to take care of the temple as his last request before he died.
Because she was a young teenager of 16 years old, her beauty grew, pleasing the eyes of the men who saw her, but also attracting evil from them.
When she arrived at the temple, she noticed that the temple, which used to be covered in vines and plants, had now disappeared. The grass was more vibrant with flowers that had bloomed. This was unusual, since spring had already passed, giving way to summer.
When she entered the temple, she came across a statue of the god of spring holding a mirror.
"Hi handsome, I've come to clean it again, so don't worry, okay?"
"Before, Dad said that this god used the mirror to bring spring to this world, but after he disappeared, everything changed, making the earth unfertile for planting."
Because of this, no one remembers her name anymore, not even Dad, who prayed every day in search of at least one day when everyone could have great abundance.
While she was thinking, the sound of footsteps took Maria's attention away. The footsteps sounded faster and faster, and before Maria could do anything, she felt a weight on her back, pressing her to the ground.
"Didn't I say that if you didn't agree to be with me, I would do something worse to you, you bitch!" A burly man said as he held her down.
"Joaquim?! What the... stop it!!" I screamed, tears starting to fall from my eyes.
He was tearing my clothes off, leaving me naked. That made me so scared. The cold floor was pressing against my face. I felt my soul tearing apart, asking for help. I wanted to run away, I wanted to ask for help, but my body froze. Nothing came out of me except sobs. I couldn't breathe. My soul cried out for help, but my heart didn't respond.
I felt disgust, I felt anger, I felt sadness. I asked myself for forgiveness for not being able to do anything, for not even being able to do anything. I wanted to bite my tongue and ask my father for forgiveness.
Crying, I just waited for the suffering, but it never came. I felt my body get lighter, the weight on top of me disappeared as a voice spoke to me.
"Are you okay?" the voice asked me in a warm voice. "It's okay. I've already dealt with that monster. You can open your eyes now."
When I opened my eyes, I was faced with the vision of Joaquim trapped in thorns, where white roses bloomed little by little from the thorn. When the thorns pierced his skin, the roses gradually turned crimson red.
The more I looked, the more beautiful the roses became. Joaquim screamed in pain, but seeing that horrible man suffering, the only thing I could feel was relief.
"Have you calmed down yet?" the voice asked.
Following the voice in my soul, I found myself looking at the large statue, "God of Spring?"