MidReal Story

HIDE AND SEEK PART1

Scenario:We were the three unbreakable. From the moment we met in preschool, we were inseparable. Jake, Tyler, and I were placed at the same table on our first day, and while I was the quiet one, they made sure I wasn’t alone. From that day forward, it was us against the world. Our parents knew it, too. My mom never hesitated to let me go to their houses, and their parents welcomed me like family. We were supposed to grow up together, be in each other’s weddings, raise our kids side by side. But now, there were only two of us. Near our neighborhood, there was a patch of woods—a peaceful place, open and bright. But if you went too far in the wrong direction, the trees grew thick, and the light barely touched the ground. We learned the trails like the back of our hands. Every shortcut, every hiding spot, every forgotten relic buried beneath the leaves. It was our kingdom. Our playground. And it became our nightmare. I still remember that night so clearly. We were thirteen, just old enough to know better but still young enough to think nothing bad could ever happen to us. Hide and seek was our game, and I was the seeker. Jake and Tyler ran off to hide. Tyler hesitated. He said it was getting dark, that he didn’t like the woods at night. He said it haunted him. I laughed. Called him a crybaby. Told him to stop being dramatic. He caved. One last round. That was all it took. And I’ve spent every day since wondering what really happened. Because we knew those woods. We knew where we shouldn’t go. But something… something happened that night. Something that took Tyler.
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We were the three unbreakable. From the moment we met in preschool, we were inseparable. Jake, Tyler, and I were placed at the same table on our first day, and while I was the quiet one, they made sure I wasn’t alone. From that day forward, it was us against the world. Our parents knew it, too. My mom never hesitated to let me go to their houses, and their parents welcomed me like family. We were supposed to grow up together, be in each other’s weddings, raise our kids side by side. But now, there were only two of us. Near our neighborhood, there was a patch of woods—a peaceful place, open and bright. But if you went too far in the wrong direction, the trees grew thick, and the light barely touched the ground. We learned the trails like the back of our hands. Every shortcut, every hiding spot, every forgotten relic buried beneath the leaves. It was our kingdom. Our playground. And it became our nightmare. I still remember that night so clearly. We were thirteen, just old enough to know better but still young enough to think nothing bad could ever happen to us. Hide and seek was our game, and I was the seeker. Jake and Tyler ran off to hide. Tyler hesitated. He said it was getting dark, that he didn’t like the woods at night. He said it haunted him. I laughed. Called him a crybaby. Told him to stop being dramatic. He caved. One last round. That was all it took. And I’ve spent every day since wondering what really happened. Because we knew those woods. We knew where we shouldn’t go. But something… something happened that night. Something that took Tyler.
We were the three unbreakable.
From the moment we met in preschool, we were inseparable.
Jake, Tyler, and I were placed at the same table on our first day, and while I was the quiet one, they made sure I wasn’t alone.
And from that day forward, it was us against the world.
Our parents knew it, too.
My mom never hesitated to let me go to their houses, and their parents welcomed me like family.
We were never on opposing teams in gym class.
We sat together at lunch.
We had sleepovers and pool parties, vacations and birthdays—always the three of us.
We were supposed to grow up, be in each other’s weddings, have kids and sit them in their classrooms, meeting teachers and becoming friends with fellow parents.
We were meant to get old together, sit on a porch swing, and watch our kids run around with their kids.
We were the three unbreakable.
But now, there are only two of us.
One of us is missing.
And it’s all my fault.
It happened on a night that wasn’t unlike any other night before it.
We were thirteen, old enough to know better but still young enough to think we knew everything.
HIDE AND SEEK PART1
We were thirteen.
The sun had set hours ago, and the dark woods loomed before us, the leaves rustling beneath our feet.
Near our neighborhood, there was a patch of woods—a peaceful place, open and bright.
But if you went too far in the wrong direction, the trees grew thick, and the light barely touched the ground.
We learned the trails like the back of our hands.
Every shortcut, every hiding spot, every forgotten relic buried beneath the leaves.
It was our kingdom.
Our playground.
And it became our nightmare.
I still remember that night so clearly.
The air was cool, almost crisp, and the fireflies were just starting to make their appearance.
Tyler hesitated at the edge of the woods, his eyes scanning the shadows for some unknown threat.
HIDE AND SEEK PART1
"It’s getting dark," he said finally, his voice tinged with fear.
"I don’t like going in there at night."
"It’s fine," I told him, rolling my eyes.
"It’s not that dark. And even if it was, it’s not like we’re going to go far. You’re such a baby."
He looked at Jake for support, but Jake just shrugged.
"Come on," I said.
"One last round. That’s all."
He relented finally, and we ran off to hide from each other in a game of hide and seek we’d played countless times before. But something was different this time.
Something we couldn’t see or sense or smell or hear… but something that changed everything anyway.
Jake and Tyler were hiding together in one of their favorite spots—behind a fallen log deep in the woods—when Tyler suddenly darted off into the darkness, leaving Jake behind.
That was the last time any of us saw him.
"Jake," I whispered, standing at the edge of the woods where he had been searching for his brother for hours already tonight.
He turned to me slowly, his eyes still fixed on the shadows where he had last seen Tyler that night four years ago.
"What?"
His voice was tight with anger and desperation.
"It’s my fault," I said finally.
The words hung heavy between us in the cool night air.
Jake’s head snapped toward me, disbelief written across his face. "What do you mean?"
His voice was cold now, almost detached.
"I pushed him to play one last round," I confessed finally, my eyes dropping to my feet at his accusing stare.
"You think that's why he ran off?" Jake's voice was a mix of disbelief and something else—hope, maybe.
"I don't know," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.
"But if I hadn't pushed him, maybe he'd still be here."
HIDE AND SEEK PART1