62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJ6j0NTYJ6Playing Hide-and-Seek with My Cousins
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkcVAbNr2F
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwLlz77dWm
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSoqQ14gTm
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyziW24A9Me
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKSwrfKvjV
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKmAG3iTSP
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbe8npwhES
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I spotted an old woman approaching us, and my mother later introduced her as our grandmother.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPpHfzglXD
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB2Ve4Q3x7
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ouHJXOtZf
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstTPLcTMf3
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrlNwEl8Ut
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"That's the limit," he said.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6DIjip9pl
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0956SV9GE
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmAA1C8zzz
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxROrrYJQN
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAO4lNYbpr
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Suddenly, I heard soft footsteps from inside the house.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡso1DRR6YBw
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rsZKKfEOm
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UQVHNieg4
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4m6if84qKY
I peeked through the hole again and saw a hand slowly pushing the door open from the inside.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsbIYhD8Ia
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUH7v7wfbX
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdVZsJimyU
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JUvvmnr7d
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7DYY3fbP5
I went back to peek through the hole again, expecting to finally see our seeker.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ayp1LBNjC
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Instead, I froze.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5r6MpLPfuJ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1TVBw4y6s
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For what felt like forever, whoever was standing there didn't even twitch.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBeNrXDDP1
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEE0JNbK5x
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCPzilCy76
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But there was nobody there.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEOdJaIAhy
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BNJRTChWV
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Then I heard another thud.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrXWzlsTt3
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This time it was louder, like something heavy had fallen over.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEKEmT8otf
I slowly returned to my hiding spot and crouched down to peek through the hole again.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnFDX89Qaq
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But this time, I couldn't see anything.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6v5kDiqAq
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It was pitch black.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeRVZV6aD7
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I sighed in annoyance before calling out my cousin's name.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjBUfRoZ41
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"Ryan, you okay?"62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcnHX6EtGQo
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ipXMd2PNK
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtc2pyQceZp
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMy8sE5WLR
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2xfNjtth6
Feeling frustrated, I went back to the hole one last time.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9u7BozvaID
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2N3m0baVs
"Rya—"62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMBaAU3Yig
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My heart nearly stopped.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7opYeSCyig
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A face was staring directly back at me.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIffidc2J8
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It was so close that I stumbled backward in shock.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsrf9hpmKs
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFDy1oIE9e
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They were completely black.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYaz1iym3o
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdgGxUXuhp
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5Esx6cXfo
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After that, everything became a blur.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsENtoTAwkP
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The next thing I remembered was waking up at home.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWHtXJnkAn
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3avK6QeEwe
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOytAPnI06
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOOO1IKAv3
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And until now, I had never shared it with anyone.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywugACrvzN
and then Add to home screen.