Tide by Qingwen Cao

Each afternoon on a pristine white beach, young Nuwa builds four figures in the sand. Her sneeze brings the figures to life as the elements of Earth, Water, Fire, & Air. They are fated to be washed away by the tide every night, then reborn each day by Nuwa’s sneeze. Through multiple attempts to escape their doom, the elements learn more about each other’s mortal strengths and weaknesses as their lifetimes progress.