The Goat Must Burn
It had been fire years since the last time.
Five long years of disease, war and over all bad luck. She had been specifically told to stand down until further notice. Any and all civilians who got the urge had been discouraged. For what? An experiment? A strange curiosity of what would happen if the goat didn’t burn? The Goat Burner was wondering what her employers had been thinking.
You don’t mess with the Gods.
She took a deep draft of her cigarette and slowly blew out the smoke. She was positioned on a roof top overlooking the square where the goat was always built. It stood there, several meters tall and covered with straw and red ribbons. Burning the small, hand crafted goats appeased the gods somewhat, but they craved the sacrifice of the Gävle goat to be truly satisfied.
Most people thought it was just a stupid tradition which had started as a prank. How wrong they were. It was much deeper than that. When the first goat was built, one of the builder was stupid enough to dedicate the goat to the Gods.
Permanently.
Ever since then the Gods expected the goat to be sacrificed by burning it every year. If it wasn’t, bad things always fallowed, which had been proved beyond any doubt these past few years. If it was allowed to continue the Gods would rise up and bring forth complete annihilation. Scandinavia would be no more.
It was time to let it burn.
The Goat Burner set fire to an arrow and readied her bow. She took aim, pulled the string slowly and let the arrow fly. It sailed through the air and hit the goat’s head. A few more followed for good measure, aimed at the body. Small containers of tar on the arrows burst on impact and caught on fire. She knelt and sent up a prayer to the Gods,
The Goat Burner didn’t stay to watch. She left the roof and manage to exit the building undected, blending in with the crowd. She was just an ordinary woman going about her business, buying presents for her family. She smiled when she looked over at the goat. The flames were spreading fast, Soon it would be ablaze.
Her job was done. Hummin a Christmas carol she went home to live her otherwise normal life until next year, when she would be the Goat Burner Again.
