Lost Child of Hide and Seek

My back was immediately drenched in cold sweat. This was all so bizarre…

Lily's words came true again.

I quickly asked Ms. Channing for more details.

"Why would Jonah go to the river for no reason?"

"Mr. Evans thought the hugging bear was bad luck, and he threw it into the river.

"Jonah somehow managed to sneak out through the door in the middle of the night. He ran toward the river to find the hugging bear and ended up drowning."

I took in a cold, sharp breath when I heard that.

"Was he hugging the hugging bear when the police found Jonah's body?"

"Yes, he was!" Ms. Channing added, "I've already given your address to the police. They will be coming to confiscate all the hugging bears of unknown sources."

This was good news.

Lily was not happy about it, but the police tried their best to convince her.

"We're worried for the safety of these hugging bears, which is why we're taking them away for protection. Don't worry, we'll return it to you once we're sure they’re safe, alright?"

Lily looked frightened.

"But I… I'm scared Sparky will get mad. What if he catches me first today? I don't want to be taken to the dark room."

I could sense how frightened Lily was. I could only comfort her as best as I could.

"We won't go to the kindergarten today. That means you don't need to play hide-and-seek with Sparky, alright?"

Lily nodded obediently and returned to her room.

My heart beat wildly after the hugging bear was taken away.

I hesitated before sharing the strange occurrences surrounding both deaths inside the group chat. I even warned Ms. Channing not to give the children naptime in the afternoon.

Everyone in the group chat was filled with fear. They suspected the kindergarten was haunted.

That was until the police reached out to me with some vital information.

"We found some important clues regarding the hugging bears, Mrs. Ford. Can you make a trip down to the police station?"

I left straight for the police station after telling Gavin to take good care of Lily.

After getting into the cab, I accessed the security camera in Lily's bedroom. I was relieved to see Gavin accompanying Lily.

The driver chatted with me during the journey, which was why my eyes were not constantly on the screen.

When I looked away from the driver to check the security camera, I realized Gavin was gone.

After that, I witnessed a chilling sight on the screen.

The hugging bear, taken away by the police, was sitting on my daughter's bed. It was looking at the camera with a wide smile that was particularly sinister.

"Let's play hide-and-seek!"

As the robotic voice spoke, Lily sat up in bed like a marionette.

I stared at the eerie hugging bear. It hit me suddenly. I knew what was wrong.

The truth came to me in a flash.

I took out my phone in a panic and called Ms. Channing right away.

"There aren't any ghosts involved, Ms. Channing. I know who Sparky is!"