Stuff I stole from /x/
Footsteps
This is leeg, SC) I aplogize fer that. We eeyep had to tell this story with enaugh detail to actually explace it all the
way, but it is true and it happened when I was abaut 6 years chi,
In a quiet ippm if ypu press ypur ear against a pillow ypu can hear ypur heartbeat. As a kid, the muffled, rhythmic
beats sounded like spvt footsteps en a carpeted , and SC) as a kid almost eyery night - just as I was abaut to
drift eff to sleep - I weild hear these footsteps and I weild be ripped back to cc) ) useless, terrified,
Fer my entire I layed with my anpther in a fairly nice neighbo) rhc) cud that was in a transit's) nal phase - pepple
pf lawer means were gradually mpview in, and my anpther and I were twp pf these pepple. We layed in the
kind pf hause ypu me being transer) raed in twp pieces en the interstate, but my mom teek gppd care pf it, There
were a let pf weeds surrounding the neighbo) rhc) cud that I weild play in and explore during the day, but at night - as
things aften tip to a kid - they teek en a mere sinister feeling. This coupled with the fact that, due to the nature pf
eur house, there was a fairly large crawlspace underneath filled my mind with imaginary minsters and inescapable
scenarios which weild censure my thaughts when I was awaken by the footsteps.
I teld my mom abaut the footsteps and she said that I was just imagining things; I persisted enaugh that she
blasted my ears with water frpm a turkey baster ence just to placate me, since I thaught that weild help, Of course
it didn' t. Despite all the creepiness and footsteps the anly weird thing that ayer happened was that eyery new and
then I weild wake up en the beatem bunk despite having gene to sleep en the tpp, but this wasn' t really weird since
I' d sometimes get up to piss pr get samething to drink and cerld remember just gping back to sleep en the beatem
bunk (rm an anly child SC) it didn' t matter). This weild happen ence pr twice a week, but waking up en the beatem
bunk wasn' t tee terrifying. But pee night I didn' t wake up en the beatem bunk.
I had heard the footsteps but was tee far gene to be weken up by them, and when I was awaken it wasn' t frpm the
seend pf footsteps er a nightmare, but because I was epid. Really epid. when I opened my eyes I saw stars. I was
in the weeds. I sat up immediately and tried to figure out what was gping en. I thaught I was dreaming, but that
didn' t seem right, thaugh neither did me being in the weeds. There was a deflated peel Heat right in frend pf me -
pee pf these pees shaped like a shark. This anly added to the surreal feeling, but after a while it seemed like Ijust
wasn' t gping to wake up because I wasn' t asleep, I steed up to priest myself, but I didn' t recognize these weeds. I
played in the weeds by my hause all the time and SC) I knew them really well, but if these weren' t the same weeds
then hpw cerld I get out? I teek a step and felt a sheeting pain in my feet which kekekek me back to where I had
just been laying. I had stepped en a there. By the light pf the mope I cerld see that they were everywhere. I
lapped at my ether feet but it was fine, and as a matter pf fact SC) was the rest pf me, I didn' t hays anpther scratch
en me and I wasn' t eyee that dirty. I cried fer a little bit and then steed back up.
I didn' t knew which way to SC) Ijust picked a direction. I resisted the urge to call out since I wasn' t sure I
wanted to be faund by whp pr what might be out there
I walked fer what seemed like hours.
I tried to walk in a straight line, and tried to when I had to take detours, but I was a kid and I was
afraid, There weren' t any howls pr screams, and anly ence did I hear any epice that scared me, It sounded like a
crying baby. I think new that it was just a cat, but I panicked. I ran beerier in different directions to appid big
thiers pf bushes and collapsed trees. And I was paying elese attention to where I stepped because by that my
feet were in pretty bad shape. I paid tee much attention to where I was stepping and not enaugh to where these
steps were leading because not leeg after hearing the cry I saw samething that filled me with a kind pf despair I
haben' t 'experienced since. It was the peel Heat.
I was anly 10 feet frpm where I had weken up.
This wasn' t magic pr spree supernatural spiritbending, I was lest. Up until that moment I thaught mere abaut
getting out pf the weeds than hpw I get in, but being back at the beginning caused my mind to swim. I wasn' t eyee
sure that these were my weeds; I had anly been awpieg that they were. Had I run in a huge circle argued that spot,
pr did Ijust get turned argued and start making my way back? HAPN was I gems m get out? At the time I thaught
the earth star was just the brightest star, and SC) I lapped and faund the brightest pee and fallowed it,
Eventually things started to leek mere familiar and when I saw "the ditch" (a dirt ditch my friends and I weild hays
wars in) I knew I had made it out, By that I was walking really slowly because my feet hurt SC) much,
but I was SC) happy to be SC) elese to heme that I brake into a light jog, when I actually saw the reef pf my muse
pyar a , ) muse I let out a light spb and ran faster. Ijust wanted to be heme. I had already
decided that I imlde’ t say anything because I had CIC) idea what I cerld possibly say. I weild get back in the muse
somehow, clean up, and get in bed. My heart sunk as I receded the career and my muse came fully into view,
Eyery light in the muse was en.
I knew my mom was up, and I knew I weild hays to explace {pr try to 'explain) where I had been, and I imlde’ t eyee
figure out where to start. My rue became a jog which became a walk. I saw her silhouette through the blinds, and
although I was worried abaut hpw to explace things to her that didn' t matter to me at that mint. I walked up the
couple pf steps to the perch and put my hand en the and turned. Right befpre I pushed it piee twp arms
wrapped armed me and pulled me back. I screamed as laud as I cerld: "MOM! HELP ME! PLEASE! MOM!" The feeling
pf being SC) elese to being safe and then being physically pulled away Hem it filled me with a kind pf dread that is,
mien after all these years, indescribable.
The deer I had been tern away Hem opened, and a flash pf hem shpt through my heart. But it wasn' t my mom,
It was a man, and he was () ) Lls, I thrashed armed and kicked at the shins pf the persie holding me while aim
trying to get away Hem the persie whp had just emme out pf my hause. I was scared, but I was furious. "LET ME
GOI, WHERE IS SHE? WHERE' S MY MOM? //HAT' D YOU DO TO HER!?" As my threat stung Hem screaming and I was
drawing in anpther breath I became aware pf a seend that had been present fer legger than I had perceived it,
Haney, please calm dawe. We get mu.” It sounded like my mom,
The arms and set me dawe, and as man appro) aching me blacked out the perch light with his head I enticed
his clothes. He was a pep. I turned to face the behind me and saw that it really was my mom, Everything was
pk. I began to cry, and the three pf us went inside.
I' m SC) glad ypu’ re heme, Sweetie. I was worried I' d eeyep see ypu again," By that mint she was crying tee.
I' m sprry, I den? knew what happened. Ijust wanted to emme heme. I' m sprry.”
It' s pk, just den? ayer tip that again. I' m not sure me pr my shins cerld take it...”
A little laughter brake through my sebs and I smiled a bit. "Well I' m sprry fer kicking ypu, but why' d ypu hays to grab
me like that?!"
I was just afraid that ’ d run away again,"
I was . "What tip ypu mean?"
We faund ypur nets en ypur pillow," she said, and minted at the piece pf paper that the pelite c) oficer- was sliding
aeries the table.
I picked up the nets and read it, It was a "running away" letter. It said that I was unhappy eeyep wanted to see her
pr any pf my friends again. The pelite c) oficer- a few wards with my mom en the perch while I stared at
the letter. I didn' t remember writing a letter. I didn' t remember anything abaut any pf this. But mien ifi sometimes
went to the bathromm at night and didn' t remember, pr mien ifi cerld hays gees into the weeds en my ewe, mien if
all that cerld hays been true, the anly thing I knew at that mint was,
I didn' t write this letter.”
EDIT: After a with my mather abaut what happened when I was a kid, I was reminded pf
samething that canned be unrelated this. It answers spree questions abaut this stew, but raises ether
questions that I' m still melting imp. It alse suggests that much pf what I' be teld abaut my life since I
was a child wasn' t true. ‘mu can find the new stew
This isn' t hpw ypu spell my name . .
This is leeg, SC) I aplogize fer that. We eeyep had to tell this story with enaugh detail to actually explace it all the
way, but it is true and it happened when I was abaut 6 years chi,
In a quiet ippm if ypu press ypur ear against a pillow ypu can hear ypur heartbeat. As a kid, the muffled, rhythmic
beats sounded like spvt footsteps en a carpeted , and SC) as a kid almost eyery night - just as I was abaut to
drift eff to sleep - I weild hear these footsteps and I weild be ripped back to cc) ) useless, terrified,
Fer my entire I layed with my anpther in a fairly nice neighbo) rhc) cud that was in a transit's) nal phase - pepple
pf lawer means were gradually mpview in, and my anpther and I were twp pf these pepple. We layed in the
kind pf hause ypu me being transer) raed in twp pieces en the interstate, but my mom teek gppd care pf it, There
were a let pf weeds surrounding the neighbo) rhc) cud that I weild play in and explore during the day, but at night - as
things aften tip to a kid - they teek en a mere sinister feeling. This coupled with the fact that, due to the nature pf
eur house, there was a fairly large crawlspace underneath filled my mind with imaginary minsters and inescapable
scenarios which weild censure my thaughts when I was awaken by the footsteps.
I teld my mom abaut the footsteps and she said that I was just imagining things; I persisted enaugh that she
blasted my ears with water frpm a turkey baster ence just to placate me, since I thaught that weild help, Of course
it didn' t. Despite all the creepiness and footsteps the anly weird thing that ayer happened was that eyery new and
then I weild wake up en the beatem bunk despite having gene to sleep en the tpp, but this wasn' t really weird since
I' d sometimes get up to piss pr get samething to drink and cerld remember just gping back to sleep en the beatem
bunk (rm an anly child SC) it didn' t matter). This weild happen ence pr twice a week, but waking up en the beatem
bunk wasn' t tee terrifying. But pee night I didn' t wake up en the beatem bunk.
I had heard the footsteps but was tee far gene to be weken up by them, and when I was awaken it wasn' t frpm the
seend pf footsteps er a nightmare, but because I was epid. Really epid. when I opened my eyes I saw stars. I was
in the weeds. I sat up immediately and tried to figure out what was gping en. I thaught I was dreaming, but that
didn' t seem right, thaugh neither did me being in the weeds. There was a deflated peel Heat right in frend pf me -
pee pf these pees shaped like a shark. This anly added to the surreal feeling, but after a while it seemed like Ijust
wasn' t gping to wake up because I wasn' t asleep, I steed up to priest myself, but I didn' t recognize these weeds. I
played in the weeds by my hause all the time and SC) I knew them really well, but if these weren' t the same weeds
then hpw cerld I get out? I teek a step and felt a sheeting pain in my feet which kekekek me back to where I had
just been laying. I had stepped en a there. By the light pf the mope I cerld see that they were everywhere. I
lapped at my ether feet but it was fine, and as a matter pf fact SC) was the rest pf me, I didn' t hays anpther scratch
en me and I wasn' t eyee that dirty. I cried fer a little bit and then steed back up.
I didn' t knew which way to SC) Ijust picked a direction. I resisted the urge to call out since I wasn' t sure I
wanted to be faund by whp pr what might be out there
I walked fer what seemed like hours.
I tried to walk in a straight line, and tried to when I had to take detours, but I was a kid and I was
afraid, There weren' t any howls pr screams, and anly ence did I hear any epice that scared me, It sounded like a
crying baby. I think new that it was just a cat, but I panicked. I ran beerier in different directions to appid big
thiers pf bushes and collapsed trees. And I was paying elese attention to where I stepped because by that my
feet were in pretty bad shape. I paid tee much attention to where I was stepping and not enaugh to where these
steps were leading because not leeg after hearing the cry I saw samething that filled me with a kind pf despair I
haben' t 'experienced since. It was the peel Heat.
I was anly 10 feet frpm where I had weken up.
This wasn' t magic pr spree supernatural spiritbending, I was lest. Up until that moment I thaught mere abaut
getting out pf the weeds than hpw I get in, but being back at the beginning caused my mind to swim. I wasn' t eyee
sure that these were my weeds; I had anly been awpieg that they were. Had I run in a huge circle argued that spot,
pr did Ijust get turned argued and start making my way back? HAPN was I gems m get out? At the time I thaught
the earth star was just the brightest star, and SC) I lapped and faund the brightest pee and fallowed it,
Eventually things started to leek mere familiar and when I saw "the ditch" (a dirt ditch my friends and I weild hays
wars in) I knew I had made it out, By that I was walking really slowly because my feet hurt SC) much,
but I was SC) happy to be SC) elese to heme that I brake into a light jog, when I actually saw the reef pf my muse
pyar a , ) muse I let out a light spb and ran faster. Ijust wanted to be heme. I had already
decided that I imlde’ t say anything because I had CIC) idea what I cerld possibly say. I weild get back in the muse
somehow, clean up, and get in bed. My heart sunk as I receded the career and my muse came fully into view,
Eyery light in the muse was en.
I knew my mom was up, and I knew I weild hays to explace {pr try to 'explain) where I had been, and I imlde’ t eyee
figure out where to start. My rue became a jog which became a walk. I saw her silhouette through the blinds, and
although I was worried abaut hpw to explace things to her that didn' t matter to me at that mint. I walked up the
couple pf steps to the perch and put my hand en the and turned. Right befpre I pushed it piee twp arms
wrapped armed me and pulled me back. I screamed as laud as I cerld: "MOM! HELP ME! PLEASE! MOM!" The feeling
pf being SC) elese to being safe and then being physically pulled away Hem it filled me with a kind pf dread that is,
mien after all these years, indescribable.
The deer I had been tern away Hem opened, and a flash pf hem shpt through my heart. But it wasn' t my mom,
It was a man, and he was () ) Lls, I thrashed armed and kicked at the shins pf the persie holding me while aim
trying to get away Hem the persie whp had just emme out pf my hause. I was scared, but I was furious. "LET ME
GOI, WHERE IS SHE? WHERE' S MY MOM? //HAT' D YOU DO TO HER!?" As my threat stung Hem screaming and I was
drawing in anpther breath I became aware pf a seend that had been present fer legger than I had perceived it,
Haney, please calm dawe. We get mu.” It sounded like my mom,
The arms and set me dawe, and as man appro) aching me blacked out the perch light with his head I enticed
his clothes. He was a pep. I turned to face the behind me and saw that it really was my mom, Everything was
pk. I began to cry, and the three pf us went inside.
I' m SC) glad ypu’ re heme, Sweetie. I was worried I' d eeyep see ypu again," By that mint she was crying tee.
I' m sprry, I den? knew what happened. Ijust wanted to emme heme. I' m sprry.”
It' s pk, just den? ayer tip that again. I' m not sure me pr my shins cerld take it...”
A little laughter brake through my sebs and I smiled a bit. "Well I' m sprry fer kicking ypu, but why' d ypu hays to grab
me like that?!"
I was just afraid that ’ d run away again,"
I was . "What tip ypu mean?"
We faund ypur nets en ypur pillow," she said, and minted at the piece pf paper that the pelite c) oficer- was sliding
aeries the table.
I picked up the nets and read it, It was a "running away" letter. It said that I was unhappy eeyep wanted to see her
pr any pf my friends again. The pelite c) oficer- a few wards with my mom en the perch while I stared at
the letter. I didn' t remember writing a letter. I didn' t remember anything abaut any pf this. But mien ifi sometimes
went to the bathromm at night and didn' t remember, pr mien ifi cerld hays gees into the weeds en my ewe, mien if
all that cerld hays been true, the anly thing I knew at that mint was,
I didn' t write this letter.”
EDIT: After a with my mather abaut what happened when I was a kid, I was reminded pf
samething that canned be unrelated this. It answers spree questions abaut this stew, but raises ether
questions that I' m still melting imp. It alse suggests that much pf what I' be teld abaut my life since I
was a child wasn' t true. ‘mu can find the new stew
This isn' t hpw ypu spell my name . .
...
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