I’m scared shitless right now as I type this on my android phone so I’m just gonna hand it to you straight without any dilly-dally. I’m Lee. I’m 17 and I live in the Philippines. And ever since I was a kid, my parents have deemed me to be someone who has a wild imagination. They told me I’d have a lot of imaginary friends and that I would make up a whole bunch of fake scenarios in my head. But there was this one imaginary friend that spooked the living daylights out of 4-year old me.
I can barely make out any memories I have of this so please bare with me if some things just don’t make sense or if I can’t give you guys vivid descriptions. This all happened when I was 4, after all. But going back, it all started when I was in my parents’ room. Standard Filipino families usually had their kids sleep beside them until their kids are old enough to sleep alone. But in my case, I was a spoiled little kid who got anything they wanted and when I asked my parents for my own room when I was only 3 (their words, not mine), they immediately gave it to me.
So, there I was. I’m assigned female at birth so I had dolls as toys. I was playing with my dolls in front of my parents’ walk-in closet when I heard a light knocking sound. I turned my head towards the closet and saw that it was completely closed shut. I was a toddler and my toddler brain didn’t want to process shit so I just went back to playing.
Not until the sound occured again.
I began to grow impatient because, again, I was a toddler. I just wanted to play with my dolls. I didn’t want anyone to disturb me. So, in typical impatient toddler fashion, I lightly kicked the door as a warning for whatever the fuck was in there to stop. I was so brave back then now that I think about it because who the hell threatens something that’s making noises inside of your parents’ walk-in closet?
Just when I was about to make my two Barbie dolls kiss, there was a knock again. Only this time, it was much more louder and sounded impatient. This was enough to startle me, but not enough to scare me. So, I tilted my head to the side and inched closer towards the walk-in closet door. I huffed and slightly slid the door sideways as it was a sliding door. I peered my head through the door when I had opened it wide enough for my head to fit.
And then, I saw him.
He was a pale kid with dark hair and even darker eyes. He was seated on the floor of the walk-in closet, his head titled curiously to the side (much like how mine was prior to me opening the door) as he watched my every move. But, what was really notable about him was the fact that he was wearing a plain red shirt.
It was a shirt I had never seen before. The color of the shirt resembled Ariel from the Little Mermaid’s hair so I immediately took a liking to it. He wore black shorts as well, but they were covered in mud. His shoes were, too. This made me worried because my mom was someone who was very cautious of dirt. I remember her yelling at both me and my father when he and I dug around for worms in our backyard when I was only 3.
“H-hello?” I called out, making the boy smile.
“Hi!” He replied. “What’s your name?”
‘Mommy told me never to give out personal information to strangers.’ I thought. “I… Can’t say…. We just met!” I exclaimed.
“Oop- Sorry! I’ll introduce myself first, then. I’m….”
Gibberish. All I remember from that encounter was gibberish. Even my parents whom I had told his name to after meeting him remember hearing me say gibberish as well. I still don’t understand how that’s even possible.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Lee.” I said back.
And from that day on, he became my playmate. We would play daily and my parents thought it was cute because they were under the impression that he was my imaginary friend as they could not see him. He was far from that, though. They told me I was so happy playing with that guy. We both had so much fun. But, I was still worried about his muddy clothes. What was weird, though, was the fact that his shorts and shoes were muddy but his shirt wasn’t.
But, just like every other story, this one has its turning point.
We fought. He wanted to take me to his house in the forest right behind our house but my mom specifically told me that I shouldn’t go with anyone except for them (parents) and my maternal aunts and uncles (my aunts lived with us because my mom loved them too much to leave them be). So, I rejected him the first time he asked.
“My mommy said not to go with anyone unless it’s my adults who are asking.” I said. I don’t know why I said ‘my adults’ that time.
“But, we’re friends!” He snarled.
“No! You are a kid, too! I can’t go with a kid! Mommy says it’s not safe!”
“You are such a wuss!”
“I’m just listening to my mommy!”
And boy, was I glad I listened to my mommy that night.
After that argument, he had been tormenting me. He turned bad in my eyes. He was bullying me and was calling me names like ‘fatty’ or ‘piggy’. I wasn’t an overweight kid but Filipino beauty standards said otherwise (I was only 4 that time, too. It’s THAT harsh here). He would also keep on pushing me to go to his house because apparently, his parents wanted to meet me. Of course, I rejected him every single time.
It got to the point where he’d make me trip or push me. I had just had enough of it and begged my parents to let me stay at my grandparents’ house. I just couldn’t take it any longer. So, they let me. And eventually, we moved out of that place and all was forgotten. I live in a small house with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncle (my other uncle lives with his family), cousin, and younger brother who was born a year after we moved out. Things have been peaceful for the past almost 14 years.
Until they changed.
I’m currently in 11th grade. I switched schools for senior high school (we have a different curriculum here. 4 years junior high school (7th grade- 10th grade) and 2 years senior high school (11th grade- 12th grade) for the entirety of high school) because my parents wanted me away from the bullies in JHS. No, I didn’t get bullied for the kid with the red shirt. That’s a different story.
But this is where he comes in. We’re currently only having online classes because of the pandemic and were given worksheets every 2 weeks to answer as a supplementary material for physical classes. So, I didn’t really get to socialize. Until this one guy chats me on the Messenger app. His name was Jacob (as indicated on his Facebook profile). I didn’t think much of it. He was just asking for answers for our Statistics subject. But his profile picture caught my eye. It almost slipped my mind and it has almost gone unnoticed.
His picture was the typical selfie. It was so mundane. If not for the red fucking shirt he was wearing.
I didn’t want to think much of it because, holy shit, that shirt couldn’t possibly be the one he was wearing back then. How could it have been? He had a small frame when we met and Jacob here wasn’t small at all. He’s fucking buff. How could have the shirt enlarged all of a sudden? It’s impossible. But the shirt is exactly the same!
I just tried to get my mind off of it. Thinking about it would only make things worse for me. So, I distracted myself. I used Facebook a lot less because I was too scared to view Jacob’s account. As much as I was curious, I didn’t want to know. Or maybe a part of me was just too scared to find out.
Until I met Jacob in the flesh when I went to school to get my worksheets.
And you guessed it: he was wearing black shorts and black shoes. They weren’t muddy, but they were the exact same ones.
I bolted as quick as I could out of the school and ran back home in tears. I had explained everything to my mom who looked equally as surprised as me. Afterwards, she and my dad told me everything they knew about him.
After that, I had decided to get some rest. I lied down on my bed and took my phone out to read some Twitter KPOP AUs when all of a sudden, there was a notification.
“Hey, Lee. Missed me? I finally found you after 14 years. My parents still want to meet you. You better hurry up and come. They’re getting impatient.”
Then, a light knock made itself heard on my jalousie-type window.
The knocking hasn’t stopped and is still ongoing as I’m typing this. What should I do? I need help. I want to tell my parents but I’m too scared to stand and walk to my door in fear of seeing Jacob outside my room. I’m shaking and I’m genuinely scared for my life right now. Any thoughts would be highly appreciated. Reddit, do your thing.