The Sacrifice of the Last Lamb

Before Thanksgiving, Maya's butcher father announced he would recreate the "Sacrificial Lamb"—a dish requiring ninety-nine sheep slaughtered alive in public, the last one dying from terror. The townspeople grew fanatical. Maya's mother began eating raw meat. On slaughter day, Maya's mother vanished, and a stranger moved in, claiming to be her. Everyone believed the stranger, but Maya had no memory of her. The town's custom would swallow anyone who tried to escape. But Maya knew her real mother never left. She had no intention of becoming a sacrifice. Some girls are simply not born to be lambs.