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I fancied myself to be a cowboy in the old West and thus my name choice.
It was my idea to give my girl Venus her archaic name of Daisy Diamond.
It fit her well, because she was always on the edge of everything, exploring.
I really put a lot of detail into the location and researching Unpleasantville.
At first, I thought it was a joke. Who would name a town this way?
But, as it turned out, the name suited it quite well and also its populace.
They were an unfriendly lot and there were challenges I did not expect.
I prided myself on knowing location, history and probabilities.
They say history is written by the victors so they can tell it their way
and everyone believes the lie or doesn’t care to challenge it.
The history of this town held a strong cloak of secrecy and mystery.
I never planned to stay here forever. It was a quick adventure.
I did it to please Daisy, because I wanted her with me forever.
I would have gone to Mars, a Black Hole, or even Venus for her.
Being born on an ancient holiday for pagans, I was not totally inept.
I knew the history of magic and the burning times and the hatred.
I’d even considered changing my date of birth on my false papers.
Now that I know what happened, I think I should have done a greater
search of the burial records, births and deaths, and other data.
I had never seen a graveyard or a crypt either and it sounded fun.
Would I have found our tombstones with our dates of death?
Could I possibly have known that nothing lies beneath them?
Did I truly believe that witches had power or that they were innocent?
Questions unanswered that I should have known coming from 2666.
That Halloween when we wandered into the forest, we were excited.
Then I planned to exit us out of there and head back to the future
where we belonged where there was only science and no curses.
Too late, I learned the truth that might have saved us.
Apparently, Daisy’s ancestors had lived here before long ago.
The moment we set our feet upon the plush floor of the forest
we were already doomed to die a violent and painful death.
Now, my bones are but ash and this grave is empty.
My only regret was that I did not tell her.
If only Daisy had known that I loved her beyond time.
Linda Sparks, author and poet, has published 19 books and been published in numerous anthologies. She served as Editor for Valkyrie Magazine. Her favorite genres are horror and science fiction. Her book titles include: The Goblin Hour, The Scent of Ghosts and Magic, and The Ghosts of Space. The Hour of the Witch will soon be published. Facebook: Linda Sparks Author. Her Amazon author page: https://www:amazon.com/Linda-Sparks/e/B06XYTYPXY.