My father was sitting in the clouds. His glorious silhouette highlighted by the rising sun. His chin turned downwards as he gazed upon the earth below him.  I timidly headed towards him as I didn’t want to break his concentration.

“Tempess, come join me,” He suddenly said in his gruff, powerful voice, “It’s time you learn a few things.” The significance of his statement didn’t strike me. Instead, I was pleased that I finally had my father’s attention. I glided towards him and settled myself on the white, puffy cloud. Throughout all this, he never once glanced my way, his eyes never straying from below.

I followed his line of sight and saw an old town square. The buildings were various shades of brown with small, glass windows. The storefronts were proudly displaying what they sold on large, hanging hand-painted signs. In the middle of the square, a group of humans gathered; quietly watching men take slips of paper out of a black, worn, wooden box. I realized what was going on and almost tumbled through the sky from surprise.

“It’s the sacrifice!” I squeaked.

“That it is, my dear. That it is,” Father responded. He lifted his bulky arm and settled it across my shoulders. The gesture was probably meant to seem kind but coming from him it was odd.

Nevertheless, I directed my attention to the humans. The men who had taken white slips of paper were opening them, looking for the little black dot that could possibly mean the end of their life. A man with brown hair had it, he hadn’t said anything at first; probably feeling that silly human emotion of denial. Although, the people around him began to notice, shouting out across the crowd. Relief flooded from their pores.

The chosen man’s family was distraught; one woman even taking the liberty to call the lottery man a cheater. Her fellow humans were quick to dismiss her. It deeply pained me to watch the humans fight this way. Especially over something that they did for us. The man’s family gathered in front of the crowd.  Young children stood proudly; seemingly happy with the prospect of their death. I wondered if they knew the truth about what was going on. Did they fully understand that today could be the end of everything for them?

When the family started picking slips of paper out of the black box, I hid my face in my hands. Father grabbed my wrists and gently pulled them away from my face. “You must watch, child.”

“But Father, it’s so terrible,” I said, my voice surprisingly strong, conflicting with the emotions tumbling through me.

Father’s face twisted. “Tempess, you must understand why they do this. They do this for us. When they sacrifice someone there life source goes directly to me. Their soul fills my veins and I have the power to help them.” His voice rose in power as he spoke. I could tell that he was very passionate about this. “I give them the crops they need. I give them the power to move on after the sacrifice; I give them fertility, hope, love, and health. Without me, they die so they don’t think twice about the sacrifice and you shouldn’t either.”

“But… they’re like us, they deserve a chance to live.” Below us, the humans had circled around a woman, she must have chosen the slip with the black dot. The air was filled with grunts as everyone lifted rocks from around the square. I tried to hide my face in Father’s shoulder but he pushed me off.

“You must watch,” he said.

I turned towards the humans below. They were throwing their stones at the woman. The children participating in the killing of their own mother. Her sorrow filled screams filled the air “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right!” The words rang in my head. Tears trickled down my cheeks as the woman suddenly fell silent. I shot to my feet and glared at Father.

“How could you be so cruel?!?” I cried. “She didn’t deserve to die, she didn’t deserve…” I suddenly dropped off. Father was glowing! His veins filled with shimmering red magic and his hair standing on end. It looked as if he had just been electrocuted. I couldn’t believe my eyes, what he had said was true. He was gaining power from the poor human woman’s death.

“You must understand, Daughter, that this is how things work and it is how they will always work. When you take my place you will feel the rush of a human soul entering your veins and you will finally understand.” Father’s voice was booming.

It echoed through me as I jumped into the sky.

The air around me whips my hair into my face, blurring my vision. The ground seems to be moving towards me at an alarming rate but I am not scared; nothing can kill me unless I want it to. When I finally reach the ground, I land gently on my feet. I’ve landed in the middle of the rundown square. The human’s around me wear faces of disbelief. Everything is silent. My mind races for something significant to say.

“It isn’t fair, it isn’t right.” the woman’s words echo through my head. Her voice frightened and full of angst. Before I know it, I am repeating the words to the crowd. My voice ringing across the square.

“It isn’t fair,” I say, “It isn’t right!”

Suddenly, the humans all began talking. Their voices coming together to create a chorus of astonishment

“Could it really be?”

“She fell from the sky!”

“Our prayers have been answered!”

I ignored their jabbering and walked towards the pile of stones in the middle of the clearing. Underneath them, I could just make out the shape of a human. One of her arms stuck out from under the rocks; her fingers shaped into a fist as if she was going to fight her way out from underneath the pile. The sight was so gruesome that I froze in front of it. How could humans be so cruel? How could they ever think this was right? How could Father think this was right? My resolve became very clear. I had to help this woman!

I made my way towards the largest rock and lifted it off of her. The humans behind me gasped and their murmuring intensified. I kept working until all the rocks were removed. Once her body was fully revealed, I hesitated.

What I was planning to do was forbidden; no immortal had done it in millions of decades. The legend of it was passed down through the old, dusty books that my father kept under lock and key. The consequences of this action are unknown, anything could happen. My will faltered for a moment but my need for justice was strong. Every bone in my body knew that this had to be done or else I would never forgive myself. When given the opportunity to save a life, you have to take it because if you don’t the guilt will eat you alive.

I carefully placed my hand on her deformed body and spoke with great intention, “Darle vita!” I instantly felt my body drain of power; weariness hitting me so hard that I stumbled to the ground.

I looked over to the woman and saw that nothing had changed. I panicked, thinking that I had left the safety of the clouds for nothing; left my all-powerful father for nothing. The punishment for my actions would be great if I made it out of here alive. I kept my gaze fixed on the woman, my heart rate spiking as the minutes ticked by. Finally, I saw that she was beginning to heal. Her body became plump again and her face was filled with color. She slowly made her way to her feet.

“Is this heaven?” Her voice was rough but full of hope.

I, on the other hand, had no hope left. The only thing left inside my body was my soul, bouncing around in the empty cavity, anxious to leave. My vision started fading as I wondered whether or not my Father would feel the power of my life flow through him. I welcomed the end as an escape. A way to be free from my families past. My only wish was that Father would take my actions seriously; that my choice would not be in vain. The last thing I heard were human screams.