Hide and Seek

A soft light from the living room spilled into the basement stairs. Little Ethan stood in front of the door no one had touched for years. He wasn’t sure why he felt pulled toward it… only that something inside seemed awake tonight.

His eyes were full of curiosity, but his face looked nervous almost scared of being caught by his father. His body was stiff, as if he could run away at any second.

His deep thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from the living room.

“Ethan, come on, it’s bedtime!”

Ethan jumped at the sound, but his curious eyes stayed on the closed door.

Meanwhile, upstairs in her room, Mabel was reading a book. Her eyes were half closed from trying to stay awake as she finished the last lines on the page. Before closing the book, she reached toward her nightstand to grab her bookmark but instead, she accidentally picked up a photo of herself and her mother.

The moment Mabel saw her mother’s face, her expression froze. She stared at the picture silently her younger self and her mom together. After a moment, her eyes slowly filled with tears.

While she was staring deep into the photo, she suddenly got startled. At the doorway stood little Ethan, looking at her with a shy, guilty expression. He whispered:

“Mabel?”

Mabel lowered the photo, her face still surprised.

“Why are you standing there like that?” she asked.

Ethan mumbled again, barely loud enough to hear:

“I’m not sleepy… can we play a game?”

Mabel sighed, tired and annoyed.

“You have school tomorrow, and I don’t have time,” she said.

Ethan’s shoulders dropped. He looked down and quietly walked away from the door.

Around midnight, the house had become completely quiet.

Mabel walked downstairs with her empty glass in hand. She was heading toward the kitchen when she noticed that the living room light was still on. Frowning with curiosity, she slowly moved toward the room.

Gary was sitting at the big table, writing in an old notebook. He placed the worn out pen down gently and lowered his glasses. He ran his fingers through his gray hair with a long, tired sigh.

From the doorway, Mabel watched him carefully, hidden in the shadows.

When Gary stood up, Mabel quickly stepped back so he wouldn’t see her. After he left the living room, she quietly slipped inside.

She kept one eye on the door while walking toward her father’s desk. It was long past his bedtime why was he writing something at this hour?

Mabel leaned forward and read the last line he had written:

“I wish that accident had never happened. Without you, I’m not good enough for our children.”

Underneath it, she saw his signature:

“C. Gary Murray.”

Next to the notebook lay an old photo of her parents when they were younger. Mabel stared at it with an empty expression, unable to pull her eyes away from the page.

Meanwhile, Ethan was lying on his bed, staring up at the glowing stars on his ceiling.

When he heard a soft noise from the doorway, he lifted his head with curiosity.

Mabel walked in with a small smile. Ethan looked surprised, but Mabel kept the same gentle smile as she asked,

“So… what game do you want to play?”

Ethan couldn’t hide how happy he was. With excitement in his voice, he said,

“I thought you didn’t have time to play?”

Mabel stepped closer to him.

“Turns out I’m not sleepy either. So, which game do you want?” she asked again.

Ethan didn’t need to think at all.

“Can we play hide and seek?” he said eagerly.

Mabel raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Hide and seek?”

Ethan gave a sweet little smile.

“Yeah… we played it at school today, but Dad never lets us play it at home.”

Mabel returned his smile with a warm one of her own.

The house was completely dark, and Mabel walked carefully through the hallway.

She stopped at her own room and looked around slowly.

“Ethan, are you here?” she called out.

She checked the usual places inside the closet, under the bed but everything looked normal.

Then she moved through the other rooms one by one: the kitchen, the living room…

When she peeked into her father’s bedroom and saw him sleeping, she tried not to make any noise.

Mabel turned on the light to the basement and walked down the stairs. Along with curiosity, there was now a worried look on her face.

“Ethan, are you here?” she asked again.

She looked through the piles of old boxes, but Ethan wasn’t there.

Feeling uneasy, Mabel slowly lifted her head and stared at the door in the basement. That big brown door looked even larger than usual almost overwhelming.

She walked toward it and, for the first time, wrapped her hand around the doorknob.

When she opened it, a long creaking noise echoed through the basement.

Mabel looked inside with surprise, but the room was empty.

Trying not to panic, she stepped in and whispered to herself:

“Ethan?”

For a moment she just stood there, frozen. Ethan was nowhere.

Her breathing grew faster as she wondered how she was going to explain this to her father.

She placed her hand on the wall to steady herself, and suddenly felt a strange coldness.It felt less like a wall… and more like something breathing. When she looked closer, she realized the wall was moving softly, like mist shifting.

In the blink of an eye, the wall returned to normal.

Mabel stared at it with shock, yanked her hand away, and rushed out of the room as fast as she could.

Breathing fast, Mabel tried to calm herself in the basement. But something felt wrong. The pile of her mother’s old belongings was gone.

The house looks little bit different. Everything seemed brighter, more orderly, like a house where no pain had ever occurred.

Just then, a soft light from the living room spilled down the stairs. Mabel looked toward the steps with sudden excitement.

The living room lights were on, and the house looked tidier than ever. Mabel hurried toward the room, calling out as she ran:

“Ethan? Is that you?”

She reached the doorway, looked inside… and her eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Mom?” she whispered.

Her mother was standing by the window, looking outside. She looked older than she did in the photographs her hair had streaks of grey.

When her mother turned toward the doorway, the shock on her face was clear.

“Mabel?”

Mabel froze completely, her face turning pale. For a moment, Mabel didn’t feel like she was looking at her mother. She felt like she was looking at a life she was never meant to see.

“Is… is that really you?” she asked, her voice shaking.

Her mother looked shocked.

“You too?” she asked softly.

Mabel froze.

“What is that mean?”

She placed her hand on the wall beside her and instantly felt the same cold sensation again.

The misty swirl appeared on the wall, just like before.

In the blink of an eye, Mabel found herself back in the dark room.

Her hand was still pressed against the wall. She pulled it away quickly and stood there, stunned.

Mabel couldn’t sleep all night. She kept wondering if what she saw was a hallucination or something real. If it was only in her mind, then where was Ethan? And if her mother wasn’t dead… what had she seen?

She was sitting on her bed, deep in thought, when she heard the front door closing. Mabel rushed to the window and saw her father walking toward his car.

She quickly went to Ethan’s room. It was empty. His bed was perfectly made, untouched. Still calling his name, she walked through the house until she reached the living room.

She had no idea what to do anymore. As she looked around, something caught her eye. There was a magnet on the fridge holding a small piece of paper: the landlord’s number.

“Logan Ellison.”

Reading the name made her feel strange. Without hesitating, she dialed the number. Ethan was still missing. Mabel was running out of time.

Some time passed before the doorbell finally rang. Mabel opened the door with a small, polite smile.

“Welcome, Mr. Ellison.”

Logan stepped inside.

“Hello, Mabel. So, where’s this broken washing machine you talked about?”

Mabel smiled again, calm but tense.

“Come with me. It’s in the basement.”

Hearing the word “basement,” Logan’s face suddenly went pale.

Mabel kept her smile, but she watched him carefully. With the same gentle tone, she said:

“Since it’s broken, we moved it down there. Is it okay for you to take a look?”

Logan hesitated for a moment, even startled a little, but then forced a reply.

“Of course. No problem.”

The basement light flicked on. Mabel and Logan stepped inside. Suspicion showed on Mabel’s face, while Logan tried hard not to look nervous.

A stiff, fake smile formed on Logan’s lips.

“So… where’s the washing machine?”

Mabel walked in front of him and pointed at the large brown door.

“Right there.”

Logan stared at her, then at the door, confused.

“Inside… that room?” he repeated.

Mabel nodded confidently. Logan turned back to the door again.

Mabel stepped closer.

“Is something wrong? Why don’t you want to go inside?”

Logan swallowed.

“If I go in there… well, never mind.”

He tried to smile again. Carefully, he opened the door. The room was empty.

Before Logan could say anything, Mabel pushed him inside. But as she reached to close the door, Logan pulled it open and dragged her in with him.

They opened the door again and stepped out into the other version of the house.

Mabel’s eyes were wide with anger.

“I know it was you! Why did you do this?!”

Logan looked shocked and scared.

“I didn’t do anything,” he said.

Mabel’s voice cracked as she yelled,

“My mother has been locked here for years, and now my brother is missing!”

“I know what happened,” Logan said quietly, “but I’m not the one who did this to your mother.”

Mabel grabbed the brown door and pulled it open again.

“You locked my family away. Now you can suffer the same thing,” said with her shaking voice.

She placed her hand on the wall, waiting for the cold feeling but nothing happened. She frowned and whispered,

“Why didn’t it work?”

Logan stepped closer, anxious.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I’m not the one doing this. It’s Calum… and if he doesn’t want you to leave, you can’t.”

Mabel’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

“Who is Calum?”

Gary sat at his desk. He held an old photo of his wife and Logan, his expression impassive.

But his wife's head had already been cut from the photo. Without hesitation, Gary lifted the scissors. In one silent movement, he cut Logan's head from the photo as well.

Gary slowly put the scissors down and closed the notebook in front of him. The notebook's owner's name was written on the cover.

“Calum Gary Murray.”

Calum Gary lifted his head with quiet confidence. He had hidden the truth so well that no one would ever think to seek it.