The hectic season was finally over and all I craved for was a stress free evening, Just me. I got off the keke -tricycle- just at my junction and began my journey into the estate where I lived. It was pretty late, about 11 pm, the street lights dimly lit casting bizarre shadows on the pavement. With no one in sight it felt a bit strange. The atmosphere was so quiet and eerie you could hear the hoots of the owls nearby, which for some reason annoyed me.
And that's when I noticed something unusual. The little playground just a few blocks away from where I lived, was occupied by a woman on the merry-go-round with long, lush dark hair, her face tilted upwards her lips moving repeatedly in silent murmurs. Beside her sat a small child, very pale, with his head bowed in a crooked position.
On passing by, I locked eyes with this child and I wish I didn't. He was sickly pale, his little bones highly featured on his body structure. His pupils were very discrete. His eyes staring so intensely it made my skin crawl with discomfort. And slowly, his very small chapped lips spread into a wide, distorted grin, revealing some missing teeth.
My home wasn't far off, so I decided not to linger and fastened my pace. But I could still feel the intense and unsettling gut feeling that I was being watched. when I peeked over my shoulder, they were few steps away from the playground. The little boy's eyes not twitching one bit, his sickening sloppy grin extending more and more until it seemed so unreal and weird.
Right beside him with her hands on his little shoulder was the woman who's face still in it's former position but her head twisted in an abnormal angle. Lips unmoving.
With every step I took, they moved further. And every time I peeked over, they were closer. It became so unsettling and unnerving.
, "Why are you following me, you brat!" I yelled in hopes of getting a reaction. The silence that came after felt very oppressive. With very little courage, I walked forward, hoping to scare them off, But with every step I took forward, they moved backward, the child not taking his eyes off me.
The woman let out a little sniffle her breathing abnormally heavy and uneasy. Her head dropped immediately and it pinched a sense of regret. Her face was smooth, but pale. Her skin looked bony to the touch just like the child. Her right eye was stitched up. with pox-like content dripping off from the little space between her eye lid. Probably due to poor treatment. Her left eye was wide and dilated. The same horrid and twisted grin spread across her face in the most unusual manner. Her immaculate breathing grew louder,, turning into a menacing whisper "You should have never looked into his eyes."
And before I could process her sentence. she charged at me, Her face still in character. I sprinted as quickly as possible, looking behind my back from time to time, and soon after realized that she had stopped and was standing in the middle of the road. stationary and unmoving.
I dashed into my home without looking back. But the feeling of being watched still lingered. I peered through the peephole. and locked eyes with the child. His breathing loud and unusual, his grin grew. Deformed and abnormal.
I retreated to my room to catch some sleep hoping to escape the terror. But instead from my window locked eyes with a peeking head behind the tree right across the street facing my home. Her hair this time gliding down, covering half of her face. Same intense stare and eerie grin. The child joined her soon after their figure motionless, Watching me.
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