Ghost Stories: Aika by Ginny Darke

Aika

the meadow clears
its throat, it is
preparing to sing.

the air is thick
with code.
they say the sun

never sets here
only turns
its face away

for modesty's sake.
the elders wear crowns
of drying herbs,

each stem chosen
for its willingness
to burn clean and respawn.

stitch ribbons
to the maypole
in the order of your birth

and braid your names
until no one can tell
whose colour is whose.

we said it was
about renewal,
we did not say

what had to be replaced.
in the morning, mist
moves uphill defying

server latency.
we lit the torches, not
out of anger

but etiquette. smoke rose
in orderly spirals.
when it was over

we buried the bones
beneath the roots.
new ribbons

already waiting
for the next dance.
from a distance

you would call it
beautiful and you
would be right.

the priest wrote
god has gone
to seed here

and left his cassock
on the riverbank.
you will see the sun

caught on a hangnail,
on the horizon
bleeding slowly

Aika Village was a fan-made horror village on Animal Crossing: New Leaf created by the user ‘Garakku’. Players were able to visit other players' villages through the in-game ‘Dream Suite’ function, which utilised the 3DS’s internet connection.

Ginny Darke is a Welsh writer based in Bristol, England. She has been shortlisted for the Poetry Wales Award (2025) and was a Foyle Young Poet. Her writing has been published with The Stinging Fly, Poetry Northern Ireland, And Other Poems and Basket Magazine, amongst others.