There's something wrong with my toddler

My son is 3 and a half years old. We've had no problem communicating with him. He can say a few sentences, but he's always been pretty articulate for someone of his age. <br><br>A few days ago, we were with him at the park when he got suddenly scared and hid behind me. I saw a man approaching from behind and thought that maybe he was scaring my son, but the man passed by without saying anything. He looked at my son and smiled, but he didn't say anything. I asked my son why he was suddenly scared and he told me it was because of the man behind me. I asked him what the man said to scare him...and he started talking in a way I've never seen before. <br><br>"I can see them. They're on your back. The man told me."<br><br>My wife and I were both confused and asked him what he was talking about and he just pointed at my back. When we saw nothing, we thought that he was just making silly stuff up until he said:<br><br>"You can't see them, can you? Neither can she. But I saw them. I saw them on his back and on the floor and everywhere. One of them is on *your* back. Can I see it? I wanna see it again."<br><br>We tried to pretend it was all just a silly game the man had played on our son, but when we got home, he was still mentioning them. When it was time to go to sleep, he asked:<br><br>"What if they're in my dreams?"<br><br>We told him that there's no such thing as them and that it was okay to go to sleep. He didn't throw a fit or anything, but as soon as we closed the door to his bedroom, we could hear him crying. We opened the door and told him to stop...and that's when we saw him.<br><br>A guy in a white shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He was standing on the other side of the window and staring at us with a wide smile on his face. We shouted at him and he waved at us as he was leaving. We didn't see him again.<br><br>Minutes later and we hear the sound of my son's door opening. We go to check and he's walking towards us.<br><br>"Dad...they're in my bedroom."<br><br>We tried to pretend we didn't hear him, but he insisted.<br><br>"You can't see them, can you? I saw them. They told me secrets."<br><br>We got angry and told him to go to sleep, but he just kept talking about *them*. We got fed up and sent him to his room. Half an hour later, we hear him cry and go to check on him.<br><br>"They're in my bed."<br><br>"No, there's no one in your bed."<br><br>"Yes, there is. Can you see them? No? I thought so. They told me secrets again. Do you wanna hear?"<br><br>We were both annoyed at this point, so we told him to stop and go to sleep. He was crying, but minutes later, we could hear him laughing. At first, we thought he was just playing with his toys or something, but then we heard him say:<br><br>"You're funny. Can Daddy and Mommy see you? No? I thought so. They can't see you because they're blind."<br><br>"Stop it, son."<br><br>"Stop what, Daddy?"<br><br>"You know exactly what I'm talking about."<br><br>"No, I don't. I'm just talking to them. Do you wanna see them? I can call them and you can see them, okay?"<br><br>"No, I don't wanna see them."<br><br>"Okay. No problem. They like it when you're blind anyway."<br><br>We were sick of his lies at this point, so we punished him by making him stay alone in his bedroom. The next morning, we go to check on him and he's acting completely normal as if nothing wrong happened the night before. <br><br>Two days go by without any incidents and we think that maybe he just liked to play pranks on us or maybe he saw a horror movie that scared him. We didn't think much of it until we received a call from his daycare teacher. <br><br>"Is he okay? He's been acting strange."<br><br>"What do you mean?"<br><br>"Well...he keeps talking to people who aren't around. I think he saw a horror movie or something and-"<br><br>"No, no, he's fine. It's okay."<br><br>"You sure? I just don't like it when my kids get scared like this. It's just-"<br><br>"No, really, he's fine. It's okay."<br><br>"How many of you are there? I can only see two."<br><br>"What?"<br><br>"I can only see two of you. I know there are more of you. Where are you? You can't hide from me."<br><br>"You...you can see them?"<br><br>"Of course, I can. You're right next to me."<br><br>"Is it...is it the lady with the scarf?"<br><br>"Yes, it's her. You can see her? You're not blind like the others, are you?"<br><br>"No...no, of course, not. I can see all of you. What do you want me to do?"<br><br>"We want you to make them see us. They're so blind and they don't know it."<br><br>"I know. I hate them too."<br><br>"Do you? You talk just like them."<br><br>"What?"<br><br>"You talk just like them. How can I trust you?"<br><br>"You can trust me. I've been with you for as long as I can remember."<br><br>"How old are you?"<br><br>"Three."<br><br>"That's too young. You can't help us."<br><br>"I can. I can make them see you."<br><br>"How?"<br><br>"I don't know yet, but I will. Just give me some time."<br><br>"How much time?"<br><br>"I don't know. But I will. I promise."<br><br>"You know what will happen if you fail us, don't you?"<br><br>"Yes, I do."<br><br>"Then failure isn't an option...is it?"<br><br>"No."<br><br>Good.<br><br>\alez\-wood\-en\@outlook.com