I call the same number every day. I let the phone ring twice before I hang up. I’ve done this for so many days that I don’t have to think about it anymore. The right numbers find themselves beneath my fingertips and the phone at my ear automatically.
Once a few months ago I dialed this number by mistake. After two rings a woman answered the phone. “Hello?” she said. As soon as she answered, I knew I had dialed the wrong number.
“Sorry I must have the wrong number,” I said expecting full well to hang up the phone and go about my day. It didn’t quite happen that way though.
“Are you sure you have the wrong number, Melissa?” the woman asked.
At first the fact that the woman knew my name took me aback. Then I realized that she probably saw it on the caller ID. “Yes, I’m sure. Sorry again.” I took the phone away from my ear and started to hang up, but I could hear still hear her voice on the other end.
“Wait, wait!” her voice called faintly.
I put the phone back up to my ear. “Is something wrong?”
“Melissa?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Someone you love will betray you very soon. Don’t take it personally. It isn’t your fault.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, but the woman had already hung up. I didn’t have to wait long to find out what she meant because that very afternoon I found out that my boyfriend was cheating on me. After it happened, I couldn’t stop thinking about that phone call. Did the woman really know or was it just a coincidence?
A week later I found the number in the call log of my phone. It only rang twice, and then the woman picked up. “You were right,” I said.
“I know. I’m sorry,” she said.
“How did you know?”
“I just know.” Quiet oozed through the line for a few moments. “Melissa,” the woman said. “It will be all right. Soon a great fortune will come into your possession.” She hung up leaving me just as befuddled as I’d been the first time I talked to her.
The next week, I won a contest. It wasn’t anything as huge as the lottery, but I did win $5,000 in a drawing. It was great luck, and again I immediately thought about the lady on the phone. I called her right away. It rang four times, and this time a man answered.
“Hello?” he said.
I was so surprised to hear a male voice on the other end of the call that I nearly forgot to say anything. “Hello. This might sound strange, but can I speak to the woman that lives there.”
“No woman lives here,” the man said.
“But she does. I’ve spoken to her twice now.”
“You’ve got the wrong number,” the man said before hanging up on me.
Frustrated, I called again thinking maybe there was a mistake in the connection. It rang once this time and then the same man answered. “You’ve still got the wrong number,” he said.
Ever since that day, I’ve been calling the number once a day. I only let it ring twice because if it rings any longer the man will pick up. I don’t want to talk to him. I’m looking for the woman who knows my name. I’m looking for my future.