• I wake up, screaming because of the reacurring nightmare I've had since Mother died. Our village's power source isn't going, so it's between three and five in the morning, or its storming. I click on my booklight and feel around for my hearing aid. As my hand grabs it, I feel as if something has left my life. Permanently... I slip on the hearing aid and can hear a faint sobbing. It's coming from outside, so I get up and walk out the door. The head of the village, Telila, is sitting in the middle of the village, wearing her mourning clothes. "The Tree of Life has been uprooted by the storm," she signs, "I'm afraid this means..." Her hands drop to her sides, and I nod. Telila has always told me that when something unbearabley bad happens, there will be a sacrifice. I volunteered because I am of the cursed family, the Marons. Long ago, my ansestors had built the village on oil lands, which was against the rules of The Elders back then. The Maron family was cursed with eternal disability. All of my family is disabled, but mine is currently worse. Talila runs to the executionist, and we begin the ceremony. I am injected with syrum of the Oak, which grants relief of pain. I watch the rest of the ceremony with my hearing aid off. When the time comes, and the axe falls toward my throat, i smile. Then... Eternal darkness.