The Phone That Wouldn’t Stop Ringing

The first ring came at midnight.
Emma sat up in bed, her heart beating fast. Who would call at such an hour? She reached for her phone, but the screen was dark. The sound wasn’t coming from her phone at all. It was coming from the old landline in the living room—one she hadn’t used in years.

Curious and a little scared, she walked to the living room. The phone rang again, sharp and loud in the quiet night. She picked up the receiver.
“Hello?” she whispered.

There was only silence. Then the line went dead.

Emma put the phone down, shaking her head. Probably just a wrong number. But five minutes later, the phone rang again. And again. Each time she answered, there was no one on the other side.

By the fourth call, she decided to unplug the phone. But when she pulled the cord from the wall, the ringing continued. Louder. Faster. Her chest tightened. She almost screamed.

Finally, she shouted into the receiver:
“Stop calling me! What do you want?”

The ringing stopped instantly. For a moment, the silence felt heavier than the sound. Then a calm, warm voice replied:
“You need to rest, Emma. Stop worrying about tomorrow. You’ll be fine.”

Her eyes filled with tears. No one had called her by name. No one could have known what she was feeling.

The phone clicked off. This time, it didn’t ring again.

Emma stood in the dark room, feeling strangely peaceful. She didn’t know who—or what—had spoken to her. But she knew one thing for sure: sometimes, the messages we need most come in the strangest ways.