hmm what to say... I almost tapped out early on but I was driving and I wouldn't have been able to switch to a new story without pulling over. I'm glad I didn't give up. Its slow reveal of what was going on was fantastic. Some of my favorite stories are slow reveals that keep you engaged throughout the story. Not the ones that keep you confused until the end, "it will all become clear in the end". Such subtle differences and to each of us, the "engagement throughout" that makes us giddy, will be different.

It opens with a community preparing for the visit of the Pilgrim and it shows excited anticipation, ceremony and religious blessings and beliefs. (Those are the reasons I wanted to tap out. Not my reading interest.) It doesn't go on all that long but it's the opening setting.

That's all I'm saying which I realize is nothing. I guess I could add it's SF, probably post-apocalyptic. Maria (from the title) is nine years old. She's a smart girl and I'm pretty sure this is her first time seeing the coming of the Pilgrim. Oh the innocence of youth. Maria & the Pilgrim are our MCs.

{short story}

"Word webbed over the altiplano, carried one village to the next by the wandering gene merchants: a pilgrim was coming." ( )