Come Find Me

”I'm hiding - come find me!“

When five year old David Saint heard that, his eyes snapped open. As he lay in underneath his Buzz Light year blanket, he clutched it against himself tighter, and tried to brush it off.

"I'm hiding - come find me!“

David pulled the covers over his head and began counting sheep, trying to get back to sleep.

"I'm hiding - come find me!“

If there's one thing David had learned, three times meant this was no coincidence. David shut his eyes tight instead, and gently pulled the covers off.

"I'm hiding - come find me!“

David opened his eyes when nothing grabbed his throat with thin, spindly fingers attached to rotting hands. He scanned his room, the nightlight providing him with guidance. Everything looked fine and dandy. His toys were on their shelves, shoes by the door-

"I'm hiding - come find me!“

And now that he was getting used to the voice, it wasn't as scary as it used to be. It was just repeating one phrase after all. What's so scary about that?

"I'm hiding - come find me!"

David got out of bed. His small, bare feet softly tread across the carpet as he tugged the sleeve of his Woody PJs. The voice was coming from his closet. Should he get his parents?

"I'm hiding - come find me!"

No. They were probably asleep. David didn't need to bother them! He was a big boy! Clenching his small hands into small fists, David began carefully putting one foot in front of the other.

"I'm hiding - come find me!"

David marched straight from his bed to the closet door. He was breathing in and out, slow and steady, easy-peasy lemon squeezy.

"I'm hiding - come find me!"

Thinking about it, David decided it was a girls voice. But there was something strange about it.

"I'm hiding - come find me!"

David slowly raised his hand to grasp the door knob of his closet, but stopped. What if the owner of the voice wasn't a little girl but something pretending to be a little girl? Perhaps it could be some big hairy man with big hairy hands and feet, sharp pointy fangs and sharp pointy claws.

"I'm hiding - come find me!"

There was only one way to find out. David gripped the door knob and pulled it open.

"I'm hiding - come find me!" said what David realized was one of his toys. A rather silly thing called a Hiding Harry doll, a monkey which David thought looked like it wanted to eat a booger. Picking up Harry, David turned it off without further ado.

But then he remembered something.

Hadn't he turned this off before bed?

"I'm hiding," said a deep, echoing voice from behind him, "come find me, David."