"Barmaid" by Rochelle Leya Watts

The barmaid looked out at the setting sun
She closed her eyes
So tight they hurt

It was happening again
The blood was creeping up
And soon the dress would be soaked

She tried to remember what night it was
Hoping it wasn’t that night
When daggers showed their flashy arms
That grabbed people around her
And dropped them
And if she opened her eyes
She could see the bodies on the ground

It was happening again
Now she knew it was the night
Every year the bloody dress

Finally she opened her eyes
The screams were dying away
But she could feel their looks
Not one of them moved
Those others who pitied her
As she clung to this spot

Other than this one night every year
When they came to meet the daggers
They roamed as they want
Restless souls
But she, who had died of fright at finding the whole inn dead
She the sweet barmaid

With the blood creeping up her dress
She waits in terror
To reenact her own death in a few hours