Scapegoat

by Susan J. Kroupa

Nine-year old Tiyo, the last member of the rainmaker clan in his village, has no memory of the great war, but he sees the aftermath in thirsty, drought-stricken land. Just as he used to see it etched on the face of his mother, before her strength slipped away like water soaking into sand. Devastated by her death, Tiyo now tends his uncle’s goat herd. When a doe gives birth to pure white kid, Tiyo cares for her and names her Nuva—Snow. Soon, Tiyo and Nuva are inseparable. But the drought worsens and the village chief tells Tiyo only one hope remains. A member of the rainmaker clan must fill a gourd from the sipapuni, the sacred pool where the world began, and beg Paloloqang, the water serpent to send rain. A dangerous quest in the best of times, but Tiyo can’t refuse to go when his people face starvation. And so, Tiyo and Nuva cross the great desert to the sacred pool, only to find it leads them into greater danger, to a valley of death, where Renegades, who prey on human flesh, guard the water. With the burden of his villagers’ fate resting upon him, Tiyo must find a way to fill the gourd. But will the cost be more than he can bear?

Originally published in Realms of Fantasy, Scapegoat tells a powerful coming of age story in a post-apocalyptic setting rich with insight into Hopi Indian culture and mythology.

21 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 14, 2012

About the author

Before she let her writing go to the dogs, Susan J. Kroupa won awards for her fiction from such places as the Utah Arts Council Contest, Writers of the Future and the Deep South Writing Competition. Her stories have appeared in Realms of Fantasy and in a variety of anthologies, including Bruce Coville's Shapeshifters. Now, she is perhaps best known for her Doodlebugged Mysteries, a gentle cozy series featuring the irrepressible but obedience-impaired sniffer-dog, Doodle.

Susan lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southwestern Virginia with her husband and a trouble-prone labradoodle whose superpower is bringing home dead possums. You can learn more about her on her webpage www.susankroupa.com or by subscribing to her newsletter (where you can sometimes get free stories and other cool stuff) at http://eepurl.com/3PUR1.

Reviews

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan J Kroupa writes so beautifully that the words seem to flow across the page. In this story i was transported into a dry and barren world where a village's only hope of survival is a boy and a goat. The American Indian heritage gives this story a sense of realism I loved it.