I thought Lily was talking about a dream she had and did not take her words seriously.

When she was packing her schoolbag the next day, I saw the hugging bear smiling widely at me. I was about to remove it from her bag when Lily pressed my hand down nervously.

"He won't be happy if I don't bring the hugging bear with me, Mommy."

I let her be, as I remembered Ms. Channing would be looking into this later.

We were just about to leave the house when the kindergarten group chat kept ringing with notifications.

I quickly tapped into it as I thought Ms. Channing had made another announcement.

However, it was Janice's mom, Gina, who was creating a commotion in the group.

[My daughter was killed by Sparky, Ms. Channing! You have to drag Sparky into the open, or I'll burn down your kindergarten. I'll die with all of you!]

Gina scared everyone with her proclamation. They quickly asked what was going on.

She was sobbing when she sent her voice message to the group. "My daughter took her medication and went to sleep after I took the hugging bear from her.

"She didn’t wake up this morning, no matter how hard I tried to wake her up. That was when I realized her body had turned cold.

"Janice was still hugging the hugging bear when she died!"

Ms. Channing quickly sent a follow-up message.

[I'm sad about what happened, too, Mrs. Talbot, but this is an accident. Don't worry. Our kindergarten will investigate this thoroughly.]

By the time I got Lily to the kindergarten, Gina had already called the police. The autopsy revealed Janice to have died of suffocation from her asthma.

Two police officers came to the kindergarten to check the security footage from the past six months. It proved that there was no boy called Sparky in the kindergarten.

As for the hugging bears that appeared out of thin air, even the police were not able to track the source of their appearance. I was afraid of unprecedented dangers and gave Lily's hugging bear to Ms. Channing for safekeeping.

When I picked Lily up from school, I saw the hugging bear back inside her schoolbag.

"Lily, didn't I give Ms. Channing the hugging bear? Why did you bring it home again?"

She snatched the hugging bear from me anxiously. "He'll be mad if I don't bring the hugging bear home, Mommy!"

"Who'll be mad? The hugging bear?"

Lily shook her head. "It's Sparky. He told me the hugging bear is his present to us. He'll get mad if I don't take good care of it.

"Janice will be in the dark room forever because she didn't take good care of the hugging bear."

My heart sank when I heard that. "Did you see Sparky today again?"

"Yes, I did!" Lily was focused on rubbing the hugging bear's ear when she replied to me, "We played hide-and-seek during naptime again this afternoon."

I immediately logged into the kindergarten's security cameras when I heard her reply.

Everyone was sleeping peacefully in their beds during naptime today. Lily was the only one who suddenly sat up in bed the moment the teacher turned away. She looked at the camera with an eerie smile on her face.

She smiled exactly like the hugging bear in her arms.

I jumped in fright and smacked the hugging bear away from her.

Lily went into a panic as she nervously picked up the hugging bear. Her eyes turned red as she pointed at me accusingly.

"I hate you, Mommy!"

Even my husband, Gavin, thought I was blowing this up. "It's just a doll. If Lily likes it, let her have it."

Was I being too dramatic about this?

After calming down, I went to apologize to Lily.

When I got close to her room, I heard her speaking carefully.

"I'm sorry. Mommy didn't do it on purpose. The first person you caught today was Jonah. You can't take me to the dark room."

A chill ran down my back. I pushed the door open.

"Who are you talking to, Lily?"

I looked around, and there was no one else there. Lily was sitting on the bed when she turned to look at me.

"I'm talking to Sparky, Mommy."

Sparky again! This was giving me a headache, and my tone with Lily sounded sharp.

"Stop lying, Lily! I'll be mad if you do."

"I'm not lying to you, Mommy! Sparky is hiding inside the hugging bear."

She pointed at the doll in front of her.

Children had such rich imaginations. I sighed. I had no idea how to explain things to her.

Just then, the hugging bear on her bed moved. Its eyes started to glow red, and an eerie voice seemed to pierce into my ears.

"Haha! I've caught you!"

I screamed.

Gavin ran quickly to my side. He inspected the hugging bear closely before speaking to me in exasperation. "This is just an ordinary battery-powered doll. It'll speak when you press this button."

Gavin pressed the hugging bear's palm.

"Haha! I've caught you!"

The same voice rang out loud.

I was still reeling from the shock. "I didn't see Lily press that button."

Gavin frowned.

"I know you're worried about Lily, Lyana, but Janice's death was just an accident. The police already said the cause of death was her asthma.

"Stop being so sensitive about everything. You're always acting so jumpy about things. All you're doing is affecting Lily's mental health."

Was I being oversensitive?

I was suddenly reminded of what Lily told me before she went to sleep.

She said that Janice had been caught by Sparky and locked up in the dark room. Janice died that same day. Was that just a coincidence?

I grabbed Lily by the shoulders and asked her seriously. "Who was the child you said Sparky caught today?"

"It was Jonah. He was so dumb. He hid behind a big tree, which was why Sparky caught him quickly."

I continued questioning Lily, "What did you mean when you said he would be taken to the dark room?"

She shook her head in a daze and replied, "I don't know. But I do know he won't be able to attend kindergarten tomorrow."

I gave this some thought and decided to tell Jonah's family about it.

After getting the number of Jonah's father, Charlie, I told him about what Lily said.

He sent me a voice message almost immediately.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Ford? Are you cursing my son? Jonah never mentioned anything about hide-and-seek, and I've gotten rid of that hugging bear. Talk like that about my son again, and I'll make sure you pay the price."

Jonah did not mention anything?

I hesitated before sending another message to him.

[How about asking your son about this?]

[You're crazy!]

That was his last reply before he blocked my number.

I hoped I was wrong, but Ms. Channing called me early the next day.

"Jonah drowned in the river yesterday, Mrs. Ford.

"Mr. Evans claims that you put a curse on his son and wants you to pay for it. For safety purposes, it's best that you don't bring Lily to kindergarten today."

My back was immediately drenched in cold sweat. This was all so bizarre…

Lily's words came true again.

I quickly asked Ms. Channing for more details.

"Why would Jonah go to the river for no reason?"

"Mr. Evans thought the hugging bear was bad luck, and he threw it into the river.

"Jonah somehow managed to sneak out through the door in the middle of the night. He ran toward the river to find the hugging bear and ended up drowning."

I took in a cold, sharp breath when I heard that.

"Was he hugging the hugging bear when the police found Jonah's body?"

"Yes, he was!" Ms. Channing added, "I've already given your address to the police. They will be coming to confiscate all the hugging bears of unknown sources."

This was good news.

Lily was not happy about it, but the police tried their best to convince her.

"We're worried for the safety of these hugging bears, which is why we're taking them away for protection. Don't worry, we'll return it to you once we're sure they’re safe, alright?"

Lily looked frightened.

"But I… I'm scared Sparky will get mad. What if he catches me first today? I don't want to be taken to the dark room."

I could sense how frightened Lily was. I could only comfort her as best as I could.

"We won't go to the kindergarten today. That means you don't need to play hide-and-seek with Sparky, alright?"

Lily nodded obediently and returned to her room.

My heart beat wildly after the hugging bear was taken away.

I hesitated before sharing the strange occurrences surrounding both deaths inside the group chat. I even warned Ms. Channing not to give the children naptime in the afternoon.

Everyone in the group chat was filled with fear. They suspected the kindergarten was haunted.

That was until the police reached out to me with some vital information.

"We found some important clues regarding the hugging bears, Mrs. Ford. Can you make a trip down to the police station?"

I left straight for the police station after telling Gavin to take good care of Lily.

After getting into the cab, I accessed the security camera in Lily's bedroom. I was relieved to see Gavin accompanying Lily.

The driver chatted with me during the journey, which was why my eyes were not constantly on the screen.

When I looked away from the driver to check the security camera, I realized Gavin was gone.

After that, I witnessed a chilling sight on the screen.

The hugging bear, taken away by the police, was sitting on my daughter's bed. It was looking at the camera with a wide smile that was particularly sinister.

"Let's play hide-and-seek!"

As the robotic voice spoke, Lily sat up in bed like a marionette.

I stared at the eerie hugging bear. It hit me suddenly. I knew what was wrong.

The truth came to me in a flash.

I took out my phone in a panic and called Ms. Channing right away.

"There aren't any ghosts involved, Ms. Channing. I know who Sparky is!"