61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzU63UArkEAPlaying Hide-and-Seek with My Cousins
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQ0fOjTYoY
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvOoXlN0MR
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVmxoJtnji
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiHNX1M8pD
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUj9Onu3YnH
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I spotted an old woman approaching us, and my mother later introduced her as our grandmother.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmAQ4aevDv
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0CW7lQzB6
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVM6WDMFH2n
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Cg9VEadMB
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOLhyJNLY0
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"That's the limit," he said.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhTKXdlODB
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I immediately got excited, so when the game started again, I ran over there with one of my cousins.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrV4b4tXy2
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUplUjTgFix
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NFpA5YKDG
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bhXNAbMsX
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwBtE4GM89
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO83I5aWtji
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgxyNYQF4C
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Suddenly, I heard soft footsteps from inside the house.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuON9OovTI
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCV5ChloYOx
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I peeked through the hole again and saw a hand slowly pushing the door open from the inside.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuUcq6Nd8z
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNCwVxiKW8
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYWR9rVEbD
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3qrlrVema
I went back to peek through the hole again, expecting to finally see our seeker.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCK0kNPClY
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Instead, I froze.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0nt83cZ6I
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There was a leg standing directly in front of me. It wasn't moving. It just stood there silently.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVw7mssrwx
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For what felt like forever, whoever was standing there didn't even twitch.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKRg29u50n
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ477WPiGtZh
I frowned and slowly backed away before moving toward the side window to check if I could spot our seeker outside instead.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVakHgmwgNZ
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But there was nobody there.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94k6syWFIM
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7AxOAo47ko
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Then I heard another thud.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJQVK0gHmS
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This time it was louder, like something heavy had fallen over.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38b3aDpR9Q
I slowly returned to my hiding spot and crouched down to peek through the hole again.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGoBl7KAYC
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But this time, I couldn't see anything.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2P1bskSBLo
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It was pitch black.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpPd0hqrYj
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I sighed in annoyance before calling out my cousin's name.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWSH18YZ8y
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"Ryan, you okay?"61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lZrdz1rZT
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I rounded the house and went toward the front door. I tried pushing it open, but it was locked.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqstEXBvgb
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaT8uzUmwOi
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Feeling frustrated, I went back to the hole one last time.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLx4HVtQJ8k
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRYlhJBT79
"Rya—"61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4x8iJG2K6R
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My heart nearly stopped.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFznp0iRRg
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A face was staring directly back at me.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzt4aWTYFOL
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It was so close that I stumbled backward in shock.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsBJREnIhF
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRoh3Piwrp
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They were completely black.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ774g4vtGB0
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMO2sYAbo8g
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhObCsE1RFS
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After that, everything became a blur.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrixLD99BPa
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The next thing I remembered was waking up at home.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYqzYWT5Tf
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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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsS6LdSxjK
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtViGgf4dg
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0QFiQgEk4
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMF6GKtGPwW
And until now, I had never shared it with anyone.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAv6bbooYA
and then Add to home screen.