Julie and T&J

My theory is a bit long, and I'm going to cover important events thoroughly with my own theory, so I'd appreciate it if you'd stick with me.

I'll start with Julie. In the first part, Julie was the character narrating the story for Ethan, and later she turned into a storyteller through the ruins and the music box. Julie needs to use an object to return to the place she wants to go. Why do I say this? Boyd brought that torch from the dungeon with him, and later, when he entered the ruins with the same torch, he ended up in that place. Now, Julie has to use an object related to the story she wants to enter—that's why I say she uses a piece of the children's bones to enter the time when the children were sacrificed, so we can understand how the cycle started and what happened. Also, it's been said that Julie is the key to solving the puzzle. She can't change anything, but she can have an impact—like the rope thrown for Boyd. And ever since the man in white said that someone who loved the children told them a story, I think that person was Julie herself, and this is a time paradox—meaning even the existence of the bottle tree belongs to Julie.

Now, about the talisman stones—they might also be Julie's doing. I feel that the design of the talisman stone definitely holds the key to performing the ritual and breaking the spell. On this talisman stone, you can clearly see two stick figures falling, and I'm sure most of you have heard the theory about falling from the lighthouse and that the design represents the lighthouse. I agree with that. In the end, this cycle ends with the sacrifice of these two people—though it's very sad, it's clear that's how it's going to play out. The fall of Tabitha and Jade with the bones from the lighthouse is the ultimate key to exit. Just as Fatima's dialogue said, the higher you go, a nightmare can become a very beautiful dream. Also, the priest's car plaque referenced the fall of the stars.

Now for the second part—you might disagree, but it seems really strange to me and has similarities. The story of the Garden of Eden was about a couple, Adam and Eve. They ate the forbidden apple and fell from the Garden of Eden because of their sin. This is the narrative of our couple, Jade and Tabitha, derived from that myth. The man in white (God) told them not to cut down the tree, but they did, and now they must fall from the lighthouse to break the curse. This fall is the key to freedom and the dream that unlocks the exit. In the end, I think a boat will open the way out through the lake, and they will leave the town."