The elementary school had a condemned wing
Sealed off with plywood and padlocks
But children found their way in
Through a window that never stayed locked
We played there after school
Hide and seek in the ruined classrooms
Where the desks were still arranged
And the chalkboard still showed lessons from 1974
The rule was simple: hide until found
The seeker counted to a hundred
And the rest of us scattered
Into the dust and the silence
But there were always more children playing along
Than started counting
In the condemned wing
You were never the only one hiding
Behind the boiler room door
You could hear breathing that was not yours
In the old cafeteria
The lunch trays rattled without contact
We told ourselves it was rats
We told ourselves it was wind
But the footsteps in the hallway
Were too measured, too deliberate
And once, hiding in a supply closet
I felt a hand on my shoulder
Small and cold and patient
Holding me in place while the seeker passed
They demolished the wing ten years later
And in the walls they found the hiding spots
Small spaces, too small for adults
Where the concrete had been hollowed out
Not by tools, by fingernails
Hundreds of small scratches
In spaces where children had hidden
And the plaster had sealed behind them
Small shoes in the cavities
Small coats, small backpacks
From decades before we ever played there
From children who hid
And were never
Sought