Playing Hide and Seek with 777

My dresser, which was against the wall opposite my bed, was visible. It appeared huge in the gloom, with me huddled in the corner. I thought that the way it towered over the bed, obscuring me in its shadow, would keep me safe.

Noises I attempted to explain it to myself as foot shuffling or furniture shifting. I thought I heard a whisper. At least, that's what I assumed it was when I heard someone shouting my name. I closed my eyes and began to rock, wrapping my arms over my legs.

I remembered the last time I attempted to conceal. She had grown enraged. I'd never heard her voice sound that loud and deep before. When I first saw her, she spoke to me in an angelic voice. Her arms would encircle me, and I never wanted her to let go. When something bad happened, she would urge me to go hide and she would take care of everything. Now she's the one I'm trying to avoid.

I'd close my eyes and play chess with myself, picturing every conceivable move. When I finished the game, the arguing and fighting would cease, and she would enter. Her voice sounded almost as though she was singing her words to me all the time. She'd sit in the corner I'd picked in front of me and design a Tic-Tac-Toe board. She'd make an X in the center of the dust on the floor, and I'd draw a circle around it, constantly thinking of ways I might beat her. We'd giggle, then I'd come around the corner and put my arms around her. I embraced her so tightly, expecting her to become enraged, but she never did. She never complained when I hugged her for as long as I needed.

The dust had settled on the board we'd erected to play our game. My nose would tickle, and I'd feel a sneeze coming on. I squeezed my nose, doing everything I could to keep it closed. I'd seen something I shouldn't have seen. I was instructed to go play in my room, but it wasn't the others who were always squabbling, it was my angel.

There was a stench. I wasn't sure what it was and couldn't put my finger on it. Something crimson was making its way beneath my bedroom door. I crept across the floor on all fours. I took my finger and gently caressed it. It was sticky, and I knew something was wrong. I crawled back into my corner, appearing like a crab scurrying across the beach at the seashore.

She was aware of my whereabouts, as I was aware of hers. I no longer desired to hear her voice. She sounded more like she was playing a game when she shouted out to me. Maybe hide and seek. All I knew was that I no longer wanted to play with her. There were no other voices left, only hers. She summoned my attention. It began in hushed tones and progressed to a snarl. I shivered, experiencing an evil that I thought I had fled when she came to help me.

The door was shut. I took another glance around the room. My bed appeared to be smaller than I recalled. On top is my teddy bear. I wondered whether I could sneak across the room and take it without her noticing. I climbed up on my knees, being as quiet as possible as I placed one hand in front of me, then the other. I remembered the turtles I'd seen on the National Geographic channel. That's exactly what I wished to be right now. My head popping out of my armored shell, moving slowly, no one recognizing I'm even there.

Just outside the door, I could hear her. The sound of the doorknob twisting, followed by a forceful tug on the door and a furious snarl. I imagined two lions battling for control of the group. I was no longer bothered by the fact that I was deafeningly quiet. I grabbed my teddy bear and fled into the opposite corner I had previously been in. Dust flew into the air, and I sneezed. I heard a hyena-like laugh from behind the closed door. She was undoubtedly correct in her assessment that I was viewing far too many gruesome images of animals in the wild. I couldn't get away from her, and it was evident. I stood in the corner, scanning the space. It seemed as though everything that had been there before had vanished. My dolls were stored in the toy box. The toy home next to it had just gone. How could she have come in if she hadn't come in? Was it when I was sleeping? I grew dizzy as my gaze circled the room again and over, each time something else vanished.

The designs she had assisted me with had mysteriously vanished. We'd sat in that room for hours, sketching anything came to mind. She drew a castle for me, and I drew a princess in the tower. We had made up a slew of stories, each of us adding to the image. There had been a field of yellow and pink flowers. She had drawn a gigantic sun for me at the top of the wall. I hadn't seen the sun in ages. There had been clouds with a rainbow reaching down into the flower field. It was all gone.

The rattle of the door stopped and was replaced with the shuffle of feet. I could hear the sound of something being dragged along the floor. The red stuff flowing in under my door replacing the dust that had caused the sneeze. I scurried over to the bed and climbed on top. I squeezed my bear so tight. If it had been real there wouldn’t have been a breath left in it. The eyes would have popped right out. Tears rolled down my face. I could taste the salt from them as they ran down my lips. I didn’t dare scream out.

Nothing remained in the room save myself, my bed, and my teddy, which I used to clean my face. When I looked up, the blackened walls caused by mold began to disintegrate in front of me. The once-white-as-snow ceiling above me collapsed and plunged into the scarlet below me. My stomach constricted and my heart raced. I was feeling ill. My throat felt as though it were about to shut. I shut my eyes. This had to be a nightmare. I was lying in my bed. My toys were where they should have been, and my photographs were floating over me, ready to be told a narrative.

She was standing there when I opened my eyes. Nothing was around me, no photos, no bed, not even the nook where she and I used to play Tic-Tac-Toe. Her arm extended to me, her hand begging me to take it. I didn't say anything. I took her hand in mine and we walked through a door. A woman was laying on the floor, and I could see her. I believed I knew her, despite the fact that I hadn't seen her face in a long time. She was splattered with the crimson substance. Her eyes are wide open, starring at me. I was looking at her chest. There had been no movement.

She drew me past the red stuff and the woman who was laying on the floor. We made our way down a lengthy corridor. A brilliant light shone from the chamber at the end of the hall. It felt as though the corridor would never end and we'd never get to the room. I was desperate for the light. I craved the sensation of heat on my face. As we went, she hummed a melody, and the sound of the angel returned. Despite the fact that everything around me had abruptly altered, I felt at peace and content.

We entered the room with the strong light. A sink was just in front of me. I stood there watching as she cranked the knobs and water gushed from the spout. The scent of the red material was replaced with a fresh, pleasant aroma. I submerged my hands in the water and closed my eyes. I squirted cold water in my face. When I opened my eyes and looked, it wasn't my hands I saw, but hers. I took a deep breath as confusion crept in.

I lifted my head and peered at the mirror over the sink. I was looking at her face in the mirror, not my own. I smacked the mirror, and a smile spread over her face. I screamed, but she merely fixed her shirt, ran her fingers over her hair, and turned out the lamp as she turned and walked out of the room. I stepped away from the mirror and vanished into the darkness.