HIDE AND SEEK - 1

It was such an unusual sunny day in the whole land of Easton. The sun shone brightly, surrounded with nothing but a clear blue sky, promising the inhabitants of the land, that the rain would not be falling from the sky, since there were no dark clouds hanging above their heads. People of the Easton saw that bright day as a moment to bring their hidden business outside, to look for better opportunities that they hardly got when they were trapped in their own house, due to the heavy rain that poured all year round. Children were joyfully playing outside, moving around freely playing various games they could think of: the games that they could never do properly when they were inside their dwellings.

Right in the middle of the market which was busier than any other days, where more people happily shopped for groceries and other necessities, seven boys were gathering in a circle. Just like the other children, they were also excited to spend their day outside, playing together with their friends without worrying of being drenched in the rain.

"Didn't you promise that we are going to play hopscotch in the field?" Said a little boy to another boy standing next to him, who was seemingly a little bit older and taller than him. They shared similar face features: both of their eyes were dark brown chocolate which perfectly matched with their short reddish brown hair and their smooth pallid complexion.

The taller boy looked down at the little boy, curling his upper lip in annoyance. His brother had not stopped whining about playing hopscotch, since they left their father's stall in the market. He used to promise his younger brother to play the game, if they ever encountered with a bright sunny day. Who knew that the day would have really come, and when it did, he made another plan for his rare sunny day.

"I did but today, the other boys and I want to play hide and seek in the forest."

The other boys, who stood around the siblings, chuckled at the exchange between them. They warned the big boy in the morning to not bring his brother along with him to their group, yet here they were, being disturbed by the little boy who wanted to play a boring game.

"Maybe we can play hopscotch tomorrow, Edmond." One of the boys, the black-haired one, suggested, smiling at the young boy. This made his older brother raised his eyebrow, looking at the black-haired boy quizzically. "Today, we are going to play hide and seek in the forest. But I think you shouldn't join us for today. Your brother and the rest of us cannot run and hide quickly if you tag along with us. And the forest is not a good place for you. You're still little."

Edmond pouted his lips out of their rejection. He looked up at his brother beside him, hoping that he would not agree with what the other boy said to him.

"Thomas is right, Edmond." His brother spoke, taking his friend's side as he slightly nodded at him. Edmond looked so dejected as his brother was on their side. "We can play your game tomorrow. You can go back to Papa and stay there until Papa close his stall."

"But Neil,-" Edmond wanted to protest but discouraged by the fact that Neil did not want to play with him on the sunny day. He had been looking forward to playing hopscotch with his brother and his friends in the field, as the brothers had only been able to play it inside the spare room, in their house, and it was only the two of them. Edmond thought that the more people playing, the more fun it would be.

"Don't be sad, Ed. I promise I would remind all the boys and your own brother tomorrow to play hopscotch in the field. We will have fun." Thomas said to Edmond, trying to soothe the little boy's sadness and to persuade him to not play with them at the same time. "Go, now. We will watch you walk to where your Papa is, and then we will leave for the forest. We will make sure that you reach your father's stall safely."

"Go on." Neil ushered him to leave them, speaking in an urgent tone. His left arm shooed Edmond away as if he was a stubborn dog, who kept tailing his owner.

Hurt and betrayed by his own brother, Edmond turned around abruptly and walked towards his father's stall, which was not far from where the boys were gathering. His eyes become watery and his breath was shaking, as he held himself from bursting out in tears. The boy's free hands clutched onto the end of his shirt on each side of him. He lowered his gaze to avoid people staring at him.

However, before Edmond could reach his father's stall, which sold vegetables and fruits from their big garden in the glass house, at the back of their house, Edmond halted his step. He looked back at the spot where his brother and his friends gathered before. He frowned when he found they were not there anymore. Did they go already to the forest? Edmond wondered. He thought that they would see him arrive to his father's stall, then they would leave. But it seemed like they lied to him.

Furious, the eight years old boy walked towards the opposite direction of where his father's stall was. He thought if they could break their promise to him, he could do the same to them. So he determined to follow them into the forest, which was located few hundreds meter away from where the market was.

Edmond's pace got quicker as he started leaving the market and came down to the stream that bordered the village from the forest. He leaped from one stone to another, going to the other side of the stream. The view of the big trees and gloomy place in front of him, stopped him from going further.

He turned his head around, looking at the houses at the village that seemed far away from where he was standing right now. He then looked towards the thick forest in front of him; tall and gigantic tress stood close to one another. Compare to the village behind him, the forest was unlighted despite the bright-warm weather. His eyes gazed around, trying to locate his brother and his friends but he could not. It seemed like there was no trace of them coming to this side of the forest. Had they run into the deepest part of the forest? Edmond was hesitant to move further.

Still standing at the side of the stream, he sharpened his hearing sense, trying to listen if he could hear any of the boys' voices. He knew how to play hide and seek: the seeker would have to count before he went seeking for the other players who hid. So, someone must have been counting loudly for others to hear.

For someone his age, Edmond was a little bit keen. He took a few steps forwards quietly and slowly. As he continued tiptoeing into the forest, passing a few big trees, Edmond could finally hear someone's voice counting the numbers, echoing from the distant. He sighed in relief and stood straight before he stepped further. This time, he walked a bit faster, ignoring the fact that he stepped onto the fallen branches on the ground, making noises every time he stepped onto them.

As he sauntered deeper into the forest, Edmond's steps become wobbly due to to the wet mud on the ground. His hands gripped on to the branch that he could reach, stopping him from sliding down. Nevertheless, he kept his ears sharp, listening to the voice that got clearer and closer.

Edmond felt colder as he strolled deeper and deeper into the forest. The chill air made him shudder and stopped him from going further for a moment. He was not dressed for cold weather. It was unbelievably sunny and warm in the village. In spite of the cold he was feeling, his ears were actively listening to the voice he could hear. He realised that the voice was the only thing that kept him there, giving him courage to proceed.

When he looked around at his surrounding, Edmond noticed that everything looked the same to him. He glanced back to where he came from, trying to remember the route he took from the stream to where he was standing now. Was he lost yet?

"Will, you've got to come out now!" Yelled someone.

Edmond snapped his head towards the voice. Even though he could not recognise whose voice it was yet, he knew who Will was. William was one of his brother's friends and he was with them in the market.

"Will!" Called the owner of the voice louder, echoing in the forest.

Without wasting another time, Edmond scurried towards the voice, holding on to the branches he passed by to prevent him from falling. He was sure that his brother was here somewhere, hiding from the person who kept calling out for Will. That person must be the seeker. But what Edmond did not understand was why he kept only calling out for Will. Was he not looking for the others? Edmond wondered.

He was too excited to reach the owner of the voice so he could… join them? Maybe, he thought. Hopefully they would let him play. After all, he just came to the conclusion that he could play hide and seek too, and he could play his favourite game tomorrow. Just like what Thomas had promised. That was if Thomas did not lie to him.

Suddenly, Edmond's left arm was pulled to the side by a pair of hands, causing him to trip and fall down between the bushes. He yelped from the pain he felt on the left hand side of his body.

"Will?" The person asked quietly, hearing the thud from the bushes in front of him. This time his voice sounded closer to Edmond.

Edmond was about to answer when a hand landed on his mouth, stopping him from uttering a word. Curious as he wanted to know who it was, he turned his head around, looking at the person who caused him falling and stopped him from answering the seeker.