Two shiny eyes in the dark are staring at me. The leaves are moving, and the reflection of the moon gives them a strange blue color. In contrast, those two dazzling spheres have no color at all. In fact, now that I’m taking a better look, it seems like the color changes if I move. It cannot be that I’m the only one seeing them. We’re about ten people; someone must have noticed. And yet, no one seems interested, no one is looking in that direction, but the eyes keep staring at me. I take courage and point them out. “Do you guys see those eyes?”

The air suddenly becomes cold. How is that possible in the middle of the summer? A shiver runs down my back, and I notice that everyone stops. They are watching me. They are terrified.

Something is moving...

The leaves begin to tremble, and something approaches me. Those little shiny balls are becoming bigger and bigger until they reach me. Then… darkness.

I hear my mother’s voice. I’m in my bed. My body is still frozen, and I feel something running through my bones. What happened last night? I look around, and there is nothing unusual. Maybe... that little post-it on my desk... I get closer and read, “Wanna play hide and seek?”

Whatever, probably just a stupid joke. Something else is on my mind: today my best friend Francis is coming home. The doorbell rings: it’s him. We play together all day. He tells me about his holiday. He left at the start of the summer; his parents took him on a long journey, but now he’s back, and at least during these last few weeks, we can play together. Play. Every time I think about it, that weird post-it pops into my mind... ahh, forget it.

“Are we seeing the others in the usual place tonight?” asked Francis. Of course, he couldn’t possibly know that this year we decided to change. Jack suggested going to the park. Usually, we take an ice cream and then go there... Well, to be fair, yesterday was the first time for me. I usually go home after the ice cream; the adults don’t want us to go there. Maybe I’m starting to understand why now... I want to warn him about what happened last night, but the words just stick in my throat. I can’t avoid that place.

Francis seems electrified by the idea, so we start moving towards the park. We move stealthily and enter the park. Jack looks at us and says, “It’s time to play!” He said the same thing last night, but I didn’t notice. This time those words taste much different.

And there they are, still shiny, still hidden through the bushes, staring at me... No wait, I’m wrong. They don’t look at me... they are focused on someone else. Just when I’m about to open my mouth, I hear a whisper behind me. “He does not like to lose.” Jack is looking at me; I can feel his intimidating gaze on me... I stop.

Maybe if I ignore them, he will not notice. Maybe he just thinks it’s his imagination. Everything will be fine. The night is almost over; soon we will go home. Only a few minutes, and everything will be over. This horrible situation will come to an end...

The air suddenly becomes cold. How is that possible in the middle of the summer? A shiver runs down my back when terror stands out on my face, and I, like everyone else, am frozen, looking at Francis, who is pointing to something in the bushes. “Do you guys see those eyes?”

Something is moving...