60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxQXfhDGZkPlaying Hide-and-Seek with My Cousins
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhivgZzvz8
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzC8RTlTJ8
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPDNU3oonM
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpFWPEJX75
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJv7VYYH5hI
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIyxL6Wbsv
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0vZnZDFEW
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I spotted an old woman approaching us, and my mother later introduced her as our grandmother.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSupSaiu9nh
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXxA2ySHQw
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtBf4fAh3u
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgdXgUKWlZ
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6fq8dOUny
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5nOUxcKAq
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"That's the limit," he said.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLmTFPJeB1
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I immediately got excited, so when the game started again, I ran over there with one of my cousins.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdwlHtdjme
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfDazidZZ7
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiaEdsKJx5
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuovOK42xL
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Suddenly, I heard soft footsteps from inside the house.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRIjHHgcT7
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTo8cuDgntY
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I peeked through the hole again and saw a hand slowly pushing the door open from the inside.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlcDm10oDv
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaK6oulmtR
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjD7wrvYYFr
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dTIOZUnGt
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpb4Ke5jF0
I went back to peek through the hole again, expecting to finally see our seeker.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnb5c0sbz6a
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Instead, I froze.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWEDcMCCkL
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There was a leg standing directly in front of me. It wasn't moving. It just stood there silently.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkss0vD9yVc
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQPNwNtUbp
For what felt like forever, whoever was standing there didn't even twitch.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhynmj2vRJ7
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUR9m4HcsY
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But there was nobody there.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcxMizLn6x
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VZZrgHGHY
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Then I heard another thud.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauCbeHa5N9
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This time it was louder, like something heavy had fallen over.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWV60oeL2a3
I slowly returned to my hiding spot and crouched down to peek through the hole again.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjFNdgHkRe
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But this time, I couldn't see anything.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTvdapcJSq
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It was pitch black.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU86hqhZK1l
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I sighed in annoyance before calling out my cousin's name.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Wfg6trCfc
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"Ryan, you okay?"60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CEMrOpcPa
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I rounded the house and went toward the front door. I tried pushing it open, but it was locked.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTzrYQhOV7
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPy3Ing6359
I shoved my small body against it several times, pounding desperately while trying my best to force it open, but nothing happened.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiC6GiTxN3o
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTKuuTxKXe
Feeling frustrated, I went back to the hole one last time.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4rIfqW8fd
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"Rya—"60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfwo3RGqHw
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡga02cD9Emd
My heart nearly stopped.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrPgg6hXgN
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A face was staring directly back at me.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAGjQlh17I
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It was so close that I stumbled backward in shock.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKnZpDXFmd
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGzbBihDxI
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They were completely black.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDQoac9pca
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXSPZuJdtR
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After that, everything became a blur.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXUbrDbYWJ
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The next thing I remembered was waking up at home.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqxrMh4kcg
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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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKShnq04m2U
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgm29EqYh4Q
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMRxFIe7ex
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiwLsANZk8
And until now, I had never shared it with anyone.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjOBobcQzi
and then Add to home screen.