Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Call


The phone rings.  You answer it.  Your life is changed forever.  Did you get the call at work?  Home? On the go? Did it turn a lazy day crazy or bring everything to a grinding halt?  Write a little Flashy Fiction about this phone call and how it changes your life.

1 comment:

  1. It never failed. Trying to get out the door at work a few minutes early always seemed to spawn the frantic phone calls about fixing this or that, or a visit from the boss to check on the status of a project. Today it had been both. Nate ended up leaving right on time, which left no time for delays as he tried to get to the closing on time. He was finally selling the house he and his wife had lived in together for a few years. He'd been torn up after her death and couldn't imagine selling. So many memories for such a short time. After a handful of years, though, he'd finally gotten through most of the grief and realized he needed to move on, selling the house being a big part of that.

    "A funeral procession and an accident. Really?!" thought Nate. "Is fate trying to tell me something?"

    Trying to hurry without hurrying, Nate was now running a little late. He tried to keep his speed to about 5 MPH over the limit, but kept catching it creeping closer to 10, as he screamed at the other drivers for going too slow. They couldn't hear him with his windows up, but it let out the frustration a bit.

    Approaching the turn off the main road into the corporate area where the title company had offices, his phone went off. He knew he was a few minutes late. He grabbed his phone and glanced back up, noticing the red light and began slowing, timing the change to green. He answered the call, "Hello."

    Everything went into slow motion at the voice on the other end. "Nate, we'll be together real soon," said his wife.

    Those few words sent him reeling. He took the phone from his ear and looked at it. The number, the contact photo...it was his wife. He glanced back up, saw the light change to green as he was nearing the stop line, and accelerated. He glanced back down at the phone, flustered by the call, and sped into the intersection without his usual check for idiots running their light, so he didn't see the van coming.

    The last thing he saw was the contact icon he used for his wife...of her smiling, opening the door of their new home for the first time.

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