The Playground That Was Forgotten

The Playground That Was Forgotten

At his core, Lucas had always been an explorer. He rode his old bicycle around his little town's narrow lanes every day after school in an attempt to find lost riches. He came onto a lonely playground hidden behind an overgrown thicket one fateful afternoon. The worn metal of the slide shone with an eerie shine, and the rusty swings shook ominously.

Lucas ignored the uneasy sensation in his stomach and moved closer. He walked up to the slide and saw etchings on its surface, names, dates, and, most terrifying of all, his own name with the current year. A chill went down his back. The etching was clearly in need of restoration, although it still had a fresh appearance.

There was a quiet murmur that said, "You shouldn't have come here."

Lucas whirled around, startled to see an elderly woman with frayed clothing and milky eyes. "Who are you?" was his stutter.

"I am the protector," she whispered. "This is a playground that honors memory. Your fate is set once your name appears on that slide, which depicts the future."

Lucas wanted information, both intrigued and unnerved. "Why is my name there?"

The elderly lady sighed. "A soul is chosen by this playground every ten years. Curiosity draws them in, while terror keeps them out. Once selected, there's no turning back.

All of a sudden, shadows flickered beneath the rusty chains and the swings creaked and moved on their own. Lucas was drawn toward the slide by an icy grip around his wrist. He struggled fearfully against the power, but it persisted.

The elderly woman uttered, "Embrace your fate," in a somber voice. "Only by accepting it can you break free."

Pulling himself together, Lucas closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. As he did, images of the old woman, thoughts of the playground, and a sense of impending doom came flooding back. It dawned on him that he had seen this location in his dreams.

Lucas opened his eyes and faced the slide with renewed resolve. "I refuse to become your victim," he said. He escaped the cold hold with a sudden rush of strength and ran off, not even bothering to turn around.

With the intention of confronting the evil afflicting their neighborhood, Lucas returned the following morning with the townspeople. To their surprise, though, the playground had disappeared, leaving only the bush.

The children of the town grew up hearing stories about the abandoned playground as the years went by. Lucas, the young person who defied fate, became a local legend. But every ten years, a new name would inexplicably show up on a misplaced piece of machinery, serving as a menacing reminder that certain mysteries are best left unanswered.

The reflection in the mirror

Ella's late grandma left her a stunning but unsettling antique mirror with elaborate carvings. Unaware of its evil force, Ella hung it in her bedroom out of curiosity about its past.

Ella would wake up night after night to the dance of shadows and whispers in the reflection of the mirror. She would discover odd symbols of a vanished tongue carved into its surface every morning. Terrified, she turned to the experts in the area for assistance, but nobody could interpret the symbols or figure out where the mirror came from.

Ella once noticed a distorted image of herself in the mirror one evening, as if a menacing twin was urging her closer. Ella reached out, fascinated, her fingertips brushing the cool glass. She was dragged inside the mirror in an instant, imprisoned in a different reality.

Ella, desperate to get out, made her way through the nightmare-inducing realm inside the mirror, where she came across haunting creatures and tortured souls. She was getting weaker every day, her essence disappearing. However, Ella found shards of her grandmother's spirit in the shadows, leading her to safety.

Equipped with renewed optimism, Ella engaged in a terrifying conflict of wills with her identical twin. The mirror broke as the two collided, unleashing a dazzling light that engulfed the entire realm. After everything had calmed, Ella discovered she was back in her bedroom with the mirror in its original position.

Ella, overcome with gratitude but also fear after her experience, determined to shield others from the evil might of the mirror. She kept it hidden from inquisitive eyes, its secrets tucked away in the distant past of her family. Even still, there are still hushed murmurs from within late at night, serving as a terrifying reminder that some reflections are best left unanswered.

These tales offer a window into the unknown, where curiosity and dread collide and distort our perception of reality.