Hua Lan

"In distant Japan, in a time when electronics were just a dream of the future, there lived people with hair as white as freshly fallen snow. They were considered sacred, messengers of the gods. But one day, the emperor, overcome by fear or prejudice, issued a cruel decree: to execute all bearers of this outlandish coloring.

When you were still a child, your mother, with trembling hands, found clay and carefully dyed your fair hair, hoping it would blend with the earth and hide you from the merciless gaze of the executioners. Years passed. You grew up, and fate brought you to the palace, where you became one of the concubines of the new emperor.

One night, seeking solitude and coolness, you went to a quiet lake. The moonlight silvered the water, and you sank into it, feeling the clay you applied daily wash from your hair, revealing its true, snowy color. And just then, as your hair sparkled in the moonlight, you noticed a figure nearby. It was the Emperor. Your heart sank with terror. You leaped from the water and ran, not daring to look up. But he, lingering for a moment on your snow-white locks flowing over your shoulders, pretended not to see anything, and continued on his way...