62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbWHUHIkoTPlaying Hide-and-Seek with My Cousins
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03DWc2uLQL
My name is Jayson, and this happened when I was eight years old. Our family used to live in the city, but after the factory where my father worked went bankrupt, we had no choice but to move back to my mother's province. The city wasn't an easy place for people like my parents. Neither of them had finished high school, let alone attended college, so finding another stable job there was nearly impossible.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzM3QvisNea
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I still vividly remember our arrival in the province. We traveled on a small ferry-one that, looking back, probably wasn't meant for long-distance travel, but it was all we could afford at the time.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLIYDXUfbk
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When we finally got off the ferry, I immediately noticed how small and weathered the pier was compared to the bustling port we had left behind. The province felt quiet and endlessly green. There were no tall buildings, no traffic, and no city noise. It had a calm, peaceful atmosphere that somehow also felt deeply lonely.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UWLrkAOs7
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8BD11kslM
The ride to my grandmother's house passed in a blur of laughter and playful bickering with my siblings. We eventually arrived at a small barrio where only a handful of houses stood scattered far apart from one another.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9sAKHarxG
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I spotted an old woman approaching us, and my mother later introduced her as our grandmother.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2g0EtZVjN
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My mother's family turned out to be huge, and some of the houses I saw in the barrio belonged to my aunties. Every afternoon, my cousins would drag us outside to play, which helped me settle in and kept me from getting homesick.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsm0JPfjzd
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGeMeyJFUT
One fateful afternoon, my cousins and I were outside playing hide-and-seek. There were plenty of trees and tall grasses around, making perfect hiding spots. We were having so much fun that we completely lost track of time.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7QtXnD3V7
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One of my older cousins decided to make the game more challenging. Usually, there was a limit to where we could hide, but this time he widened the area and pointed toward an old worn-out house far past his own home.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHw0BliQyX
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"That's the limit," he said.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpjXjhYtco
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I immediately got excited, so when the game started again, I ran over there with one of my cousins.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelnGUdSYu7
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The two of us quickly searched for hiding spots. He positioned himself behind a fence while I went around the back of the abandoned house.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMoBhFemPk
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjejkqKH6hf
I crouched low against the weathered wood, waiting for the seeker to give up. As I sat there, I noticed a small knot-hole in the wall. Curious as always, I leaned closer and peeked inside.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9qK7mnVUn
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The room was empty, just as I expected. From my angle, I could see a wooden bench rotting in the corner, and the interior door leading deeper into the house was slightly ajar. My aunts once mentioned that the family who lived there had left years ago and never returned, leaving the place to slowly decay.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ueD9kZiJ0
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Suddenly, I heard soft footsteps from inside the house.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItLJ7OWb5y
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I giggled, thinking it was probably my cousin trying to find us. I briefly glanced toward my other cousin to check if he was still hiding behind the fence, and he was.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROLKkoN3QV
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I peeked through the hole again and saw a hand slowly pushing the door open from the inside.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESLxeAptAc
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I let out another small laugh before quickly covering my mouth so he wouldn't hear me. I pulled my face away from the hole, worried he might spot me first.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFyGyCFPAL
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVs9IV4YCz
A moment later, my cousin behind the fence whistled softly and motioned with his hand that he was moving to another hiding spot. I gave him a thumbs up before he quickly ran off to who knows where.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYnASQwcun
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsBTiB8xGa
I went back to peek through the hole again, expecting to finally see our seeker.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPk3sKEAdP
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Instead, I froze.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohWHtTbv5H
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There was a leg standing directly in front of me. It wasn't moving. It just stood there silently.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlo4xqQB1BJ
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISa5AcNYos
For what felt like forever, whoever was standing there didn't even twitch.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9xizjxmt5
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I frowned and slowly backed away before moving toward the side window to check if I could spot our seeker outside instead.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkMmgXOuhi
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But there was nobody there.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMW3OlXjk2
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The window had a clear view of the area around the house, yet I couldn't see anyone. The only window that overlooked the inside of the room was covered by an old curtain.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMPXO3CbTW
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Then I heard another thud.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ77LQicIKv
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This time it was louder, like something heavy had fallen over.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjm4Q82AdUZ
I slowly returned to my hiding spot and crouched down to peek through the hole again.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzk4pjLfgAD
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But this time, I couldn't see anything.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMLG0QsS8A
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It was pitch black.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fdEIS6SlT
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I sighed in annoyance before calling out my cousin's name.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyB2KhtiqL
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"Ryan, you okay?"62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mzpdjyKgf
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I rounded the house and went toward the front door. I tried pushing it open, but it was locked.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhhxgWscrR
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I shoved my small body against it several times, pounding desperately while trying my best to force it open, but nothing happened.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzWUE2uoMs
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVdFiRa2H0
Feeling frustrated, I went back to the hole one last time.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzb7O9DLJAm
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyfCPkOCTt
"Rya—"62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujtdkuwTF5
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My heart nearly stopped.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXyU3DUafD
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A face was staring directly back at me.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NrUxO1TUA
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It was so close that I stumbled backward in shock.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkpfkci5OL
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The thing wore an eerie smile stretched unnaturally wide across its face, almost reaching its ears. Its skin looked pale and wrinkled, but what terrified me the most were its eyes.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaO0RW8MyZ
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHAr3alzon
They were completely black.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3igP6dKy0H
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My whole body trembled as I backed away from the wall. I tried to scream, but fear gripped me so tightly that no sound came out. I kept tripping over my own feet as I desperately tried to run.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZZmLiTJ2B
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After that, everything became a blur.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIOxk29Qxr
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The next thing I remembered was waking up at home.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJuLe2SWn8
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My father later told me that he found me unconscious behind the abandoned house. Apparently, my cousins had already given up looking for me, and the cousin who hid behind the fence told my father where I had gone when he came to fetch us home.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBF06KBfkby
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWa57n4ttxd
I ended up battling a severe fever for an entire week.
I never told anyone what I saw that afternoon. I was too terrified they would think it was just a child's overactive imagination.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjxfkMdcFw
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmzUQHYfPI
And until now, I had never shared it with anyone.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcly1a4QWY
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