Lost Child of Hide and Seek

I looked around, and there was no one else there. Lily was sitting on the bed when she turned to look at me.

"I'm talking to Sparky, Mommy."

Sparky again! This was giving me a headache, and my tone with Lily sounded sharp.

"Stop lying, Lily! I'll be mad if you do."

"I'm not lying to you, Mommy! Sparky is hiding inside the hugging bear."

She pointed at the doll in front of her.

Children had such rich imaginations. I sighed. I had no idea how to explain things to her.

Just then, the hugging bear on her bed moved. Its eyes started to glow red, and an eerie voice seemed to pierce into my ears.

"Haha! I've caught you!"

I screamed.

Gavin ran quickly to my side. He inspected the hugging bear closely before speaking to me in exasperation. "This is just an ordinary battery-powered doll. It'll speak when you press this button."

Gavin pressed the hugging bear's palm.

"Haha! I've caught you!"

The same voice rang out loud.

I was still reeling from the shock. "I didn't see Lily press that button."

Gavin frowned.

"I know you're worried about Lily, Lyana, but Janice's death was just an accident. The police already said the cause of death was her asthma.

"Stop being so sensitive about everything. You're always acting so jumpy about things. All you're doing is affecting Lily's mental health."

Was I being oversensitive?

I was suddenly reminded of what Lily told me before she went to sleep.

She said that Janice had been caught by Sparky and locked up in the dark room. Janice died that same day. Was that just a coincidence?

I grabbed Lily by the shoulders and asked her seriously. "Who was the child you said Sparky caught today?"

"It was Jonah. He was so dumb. He hid behind a big tree, which was why Sparky caught him quickly."

I continued questioning Lily, "What did you mean when you said he would be taken to the dark room?"

She shook her head in a daze and replied, "I don't know. But I do know he won't be able to attend kindergarten tomorrow."

I gave this some thought and decided to tell Jonah's family about it.

After getting the number of Jonah's father, Charlie, I told him about what Lily said.

He sent me a voice message almost immediately.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Ford? Are you cursing my son? Jonah never mentioned anything about hide-and-seek, and I've gotten rid of that hugging bear. Talk like that about my son again, and I'll make sure you pay the price."

Jonah did not mention anything?

I hesitated before sending another message to him.

[How about asking your son about this?]

[You're crazy!]

That was his last reply before he blocked my number.

I hoped I was wrong, but Ms. Channing called me early the next day.

"Jonah drowned in the river yesterday, Mrs. Ford.

"Mr. Evans claims that you put a curse on his son and wants you to pay for it. For safety purposes, it's best that you don't bring Lily to kindergarten today."