He continued to sculpt. One knife stroke at a time. The statue was gradually taking shape. Another decade passed. It was now ninety percent complete, and the world outside was colder than ever.
The wind blew, and food grew even more scarce. Even the caves got colder and colder. It was not uncommon for people to fall asleep and never wake up.
Things got worse until the caves were little warmer than the outside. Things began to freeze over, and soon, there was so much ice that the people left had only one choice. Stay and die, or leave the caves and try to find some other place to live.
The first group of people who left never returned. Then a second group left, and a third....
