Sacrifice

• Scarlett O'brien, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2018

Samona winced, she lifted her foot up and pulled out the rock that had buried itself deep into her dirty, charcoal coloured skin. The 14-year-old girl sighed deeply and set off again on her long monotonous walk.

After several long minutes, something caught her eye. Samona quickened her pace. Right in front of her, sitting on the clay coloured ground was a baby boy. He looked barely eight months old. His eyes were a shade of darkest mahogany, his hair lay daintily on his head in soft curls and his four little teeth shone from his mouth as he gave an attempt at a smile. Although he had the face of an angel, his ribcage was clearly visible, he was in desperate need of water and it was clear to see he hadn't had a decent meal for quite a while.

Samona bent down and tickled the baby under the chin, it gave a bubbly giggle. She noticed a small water reed lay around his neck, at the end of it there was a name engraved into a piece of bark. It read; Jok.
"It must be his name." she thought aloud to herself. Jok, Jok, Jok, why does that name seemed familiar? She remembered: Jok was the name of the Water God, The Bringer of Life.
She gazed down at the small boy, who was now playing in the dirt.
"Stay here. I'll just be a minute, I'm going to grab you some water, I'll be right back."
Samona picked up her terra cotta pots and ran off.

As she neared the river's Ox-bow, her brow crinkled, and she bit her lip. The river, her villages only source of water was getting fatally low. Samona bent down, scooping up the water. The substance inside was barely drinkable. The water, if you could call it that, was swimming with dust, sand, dirt, bugs and quite possibly native animal's urine.

Samona walked back to the place she was sure she had left Jok. She stood and scanned the horizon in every direction possible. He was nowhere to be seen.
The girl cursed. How could she have been so stupid as to talk to an eight-month-old baby and expect it to listen? Samona could have kicked herself.

After abandoning her things, Samona raced back to her village so as to tell her family what she had seen, and to hopefully send out a search party.

Samona reached the outskirts of her village, she noticed that smoke issued from the direction of the village square. Samona hurried over.

Samona was right to have thought the smoke had come from the village square. The huge, ceremonial fire pit stood in the center, Jok was dangling above it. The village chief, Chara was saying,
"Oh, almighty Jok, we sacrifice this baby in hope that you give us rain."
"Noooo!" Samona ran forward, but it was too late. Jok was gone.
The raindrops began to fall.