Grace watched Jonathan briskly walk away from her and towards the direction of the huts of the younger ones.

His steps seemed like a countdown too fast, an omen too ominous, a beginning too out of place.

She looked in his direction for a bit, then averted her eyes.

It hurt her. It hurt Grace to watch Jonathan break down on the inside. Even though she was having trouble with this feeling that was convincing her that this was the first time she had met him and talked to him. But her memories told her she had known him since childhood.

She put it aside, thinking it was another bad day and that everything happening around her was equivalent to nothing, which was eventually driving her towards insanity.

She sighed and looked down on the ground. A few strands of hair fell over her eyes. She used up the rest of the water in the pot to wash her face, then pulled her hair back into a loose short braid.

It was getting too hot to bear. They had to make an offering, or else the next produce would be severely affected.

"Most likely, due to Elbrus, the elements are cross with us," she began in a level voice and looked at the others sympathetically, with an equal amount of hurt in her eyes. "We need to do something to their appeasement." She knew it was hard to accept this, especially at such a time of loss. But it was what they had to do.

Sweaty faces, some stained with tears, looked at her and nodded back.

She feebly smiled and made her way back to her hut as did the others. Supplies had to be gathered. A sacrifice had to be made.

Every time they had to resort to this, terror struck her heart and she was sure it was the same with the others. It was the sinister way of the land. They were time and again reminded of their place. Of their minuscule presence. Their petty existence.

"Tch." It disgusted Grace. But to dream of a way out was fantasy. They were at the mercy of the elements. They always would be. To live happily was to keep obeying by the rules and ignoring all the ominous happenings that plagued this place. She often questioned herself, or so came to her mind at that moment, that was this the definition of happiness?

Her eyes opened wide and her thoughts stopped in an instant. She was in awe at herself. Her mind was like a storm which was uncoordinated. Her thoughts were all over the place. "What am I thinking?" She shrugged it off and resumed work. What was this strange feeling that convinced her of there being a kind of happiness other than what she had known for all her life? This land was doing something strange to her. But she won't let it get to her this easily. Breaking her from the inside? She scoffed. She was strong. If the elements thought she would fall victim to this psychotic attack, then they were wrong. They had to do better than this.

She paused for a moment, then sighed. She had gathered everything they needed to carry out the ritual. Ropes, branches, a knife, a red dye, the beheading stone and clarified butter.

She took another moment to calm her breathing, then took off outside again.

The heat was killing her. She couldn't stand it anymore. There were no winds whatsoever. The earth was all cracked.

She saw Mary, Jonathan's younger sister, coming towards her with a goat in her arms. Her expression was solemn and a bit rigid. Her clothes were wet.

But not for long.

The heat would definitely suck all that water dry in no time.

Mary's hair had dried up before she could comb it. It was in disarray. From the look in her eyes, Grace could tell she was clearly eager to get this over with.

Grace placed the things on the soil, in the shade of the cliff behind the village. The shadow of the cliff was slowly retreating from the front. She proceeded to create two pairs of legs, and put another two pairs on the top and fastened the edges with ropes, joining them securely. Then she set the beheading stone on top of it. It held.

Now, she used the red dye to make some markings on the stone, mainly some lines and a few other symbols.

"Have you called the others?" she asked Mary, her face showing visible disgust but inadvertent obligeance.

"They should be here any time now. Jonathan is bringing the younger ones." Mary was expressionless.

"Alright, then." Grace opened her hands wide to take the goat in.

"Myahhh, myahhh." It stirred in her arms.

"You won't feel anything. I promise," she whispered to it.

Grace then started applying the clarified butter all over its body and particularly at the neck region, to soften it. The smell would alert the Sky Gods that the sacrifice was being made.

She looked up around her when she was finished. Everybody had arrived.

"Make it quick, Orlando." Grace did not as much as look at him, in dread of what he was going to do. What he had to do.

She heard him say "Yes" from her left and felt his footsteps close in. She saw the sickle in his hand. It looked like it was sharpened.

She placed the goat in position, it's neck placed in the semicylindrical cutout of the beheading stone, and closed her eyes. "Do it the moment the shadow passes it's neck."

She felt a sudden warmth on her face over the oppressive heat. Concurrently, she saw the Sun appear. She closed her eyes again.

"Grace! Must you be the one to do it?" Jonathan yelled from the crowd. The kids were at the back with him.

"It's alright." She said back, though clearly she didn't mean it genuinely. Because if she had to be honest, she wanted to stay as far away as she could be. If it were possible, she didn't want to take part in this. But she knew, everybody had to bear witness to the sacrifice. They also had to contribute a drop of blood each.

"I think..." Orlando raised the sickle...and hurled it down, "NOW it's time!" The pleading cries of the goat stopped in an instant, and Grace felt its head drop off on the ground with a thud and roll to the side. Though she didn't see it, the sound suggested that a stream of blood had escaped through its neck.

She turned around and got up, blew out some steam from her lungs and called the others to come to her, one at a time. She then picked up the knife from the side of her feet and held it vertically.

They each came, pricked their fore finger on the sharp pointed tip of the knife, and offered a drop of blood that they rubbed on the stone.

When the younger ones came, they were visibly frightened and a few had started crying.

Grace tried her best to give a heartwarming smile to calm them. "It won't hurt very much. Here, I'll tie this string on the tip of each of your fingers, tightly. It would hurt even less that way."

She showed them the strings and started fastening one on each of them.

When she was done doing that on everyone of them, she asked each, "Close your eyes."

She then jabbed the knife with a sudden push on each of their fore fingers and made them rub the drop of blood on the stone as they winced at the sudden inflicted pain.

Finally, when a drop of blood was contributed by all of them, Grace called Jonathan. "Bring the Book of Salvation now." Her voice was low. But she was glad that they were near the end now.
Jonathan quickly nodded and left.

When he came back, he had the tome with him. He sat on a cot, shuffled through the pages, arriving on where the required mantra was written and then started chanting.

"Deliver us from suffering, oh great rulers of the sky! We offer this sacrifice to compensate for our sins. We apologise for any misbehaviour from our part. We would forevermore humbly serve your needs! Hail the Sky Gods!"

"Hail!" said everyone.

"Hail the Sky Gods!" said Jonathan again, and they repeated it three times. Then Jonathan proceeded to chant the real mantra which was written in the sacred language of the land.

Rumbling noises caught everyone's attention as the heavens opened up and Grace saw swirling clouds gather right above them. Winds were starting to blow, and fast. Twisters, many of them, descended down right before them from the maelstrom.

The sight was haunting. To see something descend from all the way up from the sky was scary. An enormous reach that they could never fathom to comprehend. A height seemingly within reach but miles upon miles afar.

Right before them all, the apparatus along with the sacrifice was sucked into the twisters. Taking the offering, the fingers of darkness swirled back into the eye.

As soon as the last of them receded back into their point of origin, a burst of red flashed from it and extended outwards enrobing the whole sky in the devil's hue.

They heard a thunder. A powerful heart pounding thunder that came from all around them, had no point source.

And then?

Then it rained.

It rained heavily.