A Call To The Past

in The Ink Well3 days ago (edited)

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“No, no, no..Oh God, please tell me I didn’t just do that.”

Joy stared at her phone in fear and disbelief, the call timer still running. Two minutes and forty five seconds. She had mistakenly dialed Festus. FESTUS. Of all the people in her contact list.

Festus was her ex. The one she was already over.

She ended the call in a panic and threw her phone onto the bed like it had personally betrayed her. Maybe he hadn’t heard anything. Maybe he’d ignore it. Or maybe, just maybe, she had just humiliated herself beyond repair.

Her phone rang. It was a message.

“Festus: Hey. You called?”

Joy buried her face in her pillow. She could ignore it. Pretend it never happened. She left the phone for 2 minutes then picked it up. She had to send a response not to be rude.

“Joy: Sorry, accidental dial. Didn’t mean to call you.”

She set her phone volume on silent and hoped that everything would end with her response.

A few seconds later, her phone buzzed. He was calling back.

Her heart did a strange flip, but she ignored it. After a few seconds, she picked it up.

“Uhm..hi.”

Festus chuckled. “Hey, Joy. Been a while.”

“Yeah, it has.”

“So..what exactly did I overhear during that accidental call?”

Joy’s blood ran cold. “Hold on.. you heard something?”

“Oh yeah. Something about ‘Uhhm, why did I ever let him go? Why is he still in my head? I hate this’.”

Joy bit her pillow so hard.
And there was silence for seconds.

She considered throwing her phone out the window or maybe leaving the country.

Festus cleared his throat. “Were you perhaps talking about me?”
There was silence again and then he continued “Joy?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “What if I was?”

There was more silence. Then, he sighed. “Joy.. I never wanted to break up with you. You were the one who said we needed time apart.”

Her chest ached at the memory. “Because you were moving to Abuja. I didn’t think we’d survive the distance. It looked so far away.”

“And yet, here we are. Six months later, and you’re still thinking about me.”

Joy swallowed hard. “Are you saying you still think about me too?”

Festus exhaled. “Every damn day. Everyday Joy.”

She pressed a hand to her racing heart as if to held it in place. “Then, why didn’t you call?”

“Joy, I didn’t think you wanted me to.” He chuckled softly. “Guess your phone had other plans today.”

A nervous laugh escaped her lips. “So, what now?”

“I’m in Lagos this weekend,” he said. “Can we meet up? No pressure. Just.. let’s talk.”

Joy bit her lip, thinking about all the consequences, the risks, the reasons they had broken up. But also, the way her heart still skipped at the sound of his deep voice.

She inhaled deeply. “Okay. Let’s talk then.”

“Thank you Joy and thanks to your phone for bringing us back together.” he said before she dropped the call.

Thank you for reading my story.

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Thank you so much !

hello @joycealarapon. I enjoyed this short creative non-fiction. It evoked feelings of angst, despair, amusement, and hope. It was a little short on development and this impacted the curation. Your image sourcing also needs correcting. The link takes us to a pexels page showing the image but it does not take us to the dedicated image page that also shows the photographer's name. I found the correct link for you so that you can sub it in:

https://www.pexels.com/photo/incoming-call-on-smartphone-touchscreen-14774750/

Thank you for the response, I'll make the changes immediately!

TIW_Com2_Banner.jpg

Thank you very much!

Accidental calls are awkward but this one turned to be a meaning conversation.
Maybe it was meant to be.

What a accidental call love story. I really enjoyed it

Thank you so much!

You're welcome

What a heartfelt and relatable story! The accidental call was such a perfect catalyst for rekindling old feelings and opening the door to unresolved emotions. Joy's anxiety and the subsequent conversation with Festus felt so genuine and touching.
It's a reminder of how sometimes, fate has a way of intervening when we least expect it. The dialogue was spot-on, and the emotions were palpable. I'm really curious to see what happens next in their story.
Great writing, and thank you for sharing this beautiful piece

Thank you f for the amazing response. You Keyed into the story and understood it perfectly. I really appreciate!

Sometimes we just need to let go of our past no matter how it might look actually

Joy phone is a snitch, it just snitch in her like as if nothing happened. I hope the reconnect