"Mia, it is time." My father's deep voice arose me from my meditation. Two guards are standing behind him with ropes in one hand and a spear in the other, in case I run, but that won't happen. I've had time to accept this for my whole life just for having blue eyes. I uncross my legs, stand up and hold my head up pridefully, what little I held on to, for this would be the day I am slaughtered.
"Do not make a commotion, young one." One of the soldier's says to me. I nod my head in agreement; however the second soldier takes his rope and ties me up anyway. He was being careful. They lead me out of my home roughly and the people of our village stare at me in sadness and fear holding their own children closer.
'Hmm' I muse, this reminds me of the time when I watched another blue-eyed child dragged from her home and I was a child holding onto my father's leg while he held me closer. She was very hysterical I remember but by chance I caught her eyes and she screamed no more.
I rouse from that memory and find that we're already at the river with mothers waiting to bathe me. I am stripped down and scrubbed in cold water then doused with sweet scents. I am then dressed in the ceremonial sacrificial clothing which is a simple white dress.
The mothers then comb my hair and paint my face with our tribe's colors, which are red and black. The guards are waiting for me when they finish and I'm bound once again. This time we head deep into the forest where my final resting place will be.
We walk in dead silence with only our feet and the jungle making sounds. In the sky dark clouds begin to gather and form angry images.
"We better hurry before she get's angry." one of the guards fiercely whispers, staring at a particularly dark cloud.
"We still have time before she get's us and we also have her ready." the other replies. We pick up the pace and get to the center of the jungle where a slab of rock has been prepared and firewood preparing to be lit surrounding the slab.
My hands sweat in fear. I thought I was prepared enough. Our village leader stands strong with his panther skin robe trailing behind him, he comes to me, cuts my bonds and we walk to the rock together.
The adults of the village begin arriving and our drummers set up their instruments. The village elder arrived with the help of a young man carrying the sacrificing dagger to join us at the rock.
Our leader helps me up and before I lay down I see dried blood stains from the previous times 'this' has happened. The village elder comes up to me holding a fist over my face he sprinkles a strange white powder and I resist the urge to sneeze.
He speaks in strange tongues rising and holding his hands in the air. The leader comes next to him presenting the dagger to him. The elder takes it and raises it in the air and speaks the strange tongues again with increasing vehemence.
He slowly brings it down holding it straight above my heart. I now stare at the sky as the drummers begin their beat and the adults start chanting in harmony. Tears begin to gather and fall from my eyes but at the same time rain begins to softly drizzle; washing the tears away. I felt the blade enter my heart as though time wasn't passing. The only thought that came to me was "I'm dead".
The chanting and drumming become faint and then silence reigns. The colors around me start fading to black, there was no return from my end of the road The village elder pulls the knife out and blood flows flows from the wound. He wipes the bloody knife on the wet dress of the dead girl whose eyes were blankly staring at the sky. The blue dull and dead.
"She was a young one this time." the old man murmured to himself.
"Hopefully this sacrifice will satisfy that evil goddess for sometime, we only do this to protect the rest." The elder reassures himself. "We've done our part but I just wish they weren't so young…she wasn't even close to womanhood!" The Leader's tone raises towards the end
"There is no other way, the only thing that goddess associates with is blue eyed girls." The elder shakes his head sadly "There is always one blue-eyed child born in times of need, but only in times of need." The elder reminds the leader.
"But why must we always be in need of one? Has she not let us suffer enough?" The leader persist with his questions, but no answers come in return. The leader shakes his head in acceptance and faces the adults of the village, raising a hand silence washes over them.
"We will all remember and mourn young Mia's sacrifice and-" he chokes up "-we hope to see her in the next life." They all bow their heads for a moment and then the leader light's a torch and sets the firewood on fire, burning the body to ash. The people watch the remains get blown away before walking towards their village.
This is not the end however; since the birthing pains of a newly made mother start to cease and a blue eyed baby girl cries. The mother takes one look at her at her new baby's eyes and sheds tears of sadness. Thunder cackles in the distance.