Creativenonfiction #52 - The Phone Call

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Life is sometimes full of unexpected turns, you never can tell what would happen in minutes, hours, or days from now. What matters is how you handle whatever comes your way.

I could recall a few months back when I had some personal issues and I needed somebody to talk to. I was feeling so sad thinking about how to solve the problem I was facing.

When I got home from work, I decided to retire to bed early since it looked like I might end up thinking about the problem if I stayed up.

I was about to retire to bed when I heard my phone ring, I picked it up to see who the caller was and I saw that it was an unknown number. I was skeptical about picking up calls when I don't know who the caller was, but I summoned the courage and picked up the call.

"Hello", I said into my phone. "Hello", Please am I on to rukkie?", the person asked.

" Yes, this is her", I replied.

"Oh ok, this is Mrs Jane, I called to confirm the reservation you made at the O2 suite".

" Reservation? Sorry, I made no reservations, I think you called the wrong number", I replied and It seemed I heard the person chuckling in the background, then I felt the person's voice sounded familiar but I couldn't place it.

" You don't know who is speaking right?", the person asked. I was about to say No when it clicked. I remembered I knew who the voice belonged to, and then I screamed.

"Fatima! I can't believe this" I screamed out loud while she laughed so hard.

" Wait, how did you get my number?" I asked still a bit puzzled as I couldn't believe she was the one calling me.

" I ran into Deborah at a wedding two days ago and she gave me your number". " I told her not to tell you so as not to spoil the surprise", she said while still laughing.

Fatima, Deborah, and I all went to the same secondary school and before we graduated, Fatima's parents moved to another state and she was unable to complete her schooling with us. At that time, none of us had a phone where we could reach out to one another, so we were hoping to see each other someday.It's been many years since Deborah and I graduated and we heard no sign of her which was why her call surprised me.

We talked at length that day as I asked her to tell me everything that happened after she left, she gave a summary of the ones she could remember. I was just smiling whilst talking to her that you would think I just hit a jackpot. Well, it seemed I did.

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From the few gists we had, it was clear that we needed to see face-to-face and continue with our discussion. She promised to visit me the following week and I sent her my address immediately.

As I dropped the call, I couldn't help but continue smiling thinking of our time back then in school. I knew I can't wait to see her after so many years. That thought filled my head and I noticed I was feeling lively again which made me even forget about what was troubling me.

I went to bed feeling so happy as I kept playing our conversations in my head before I was able to sleep off. I guess it's true what they say that "Just a phone call can change one's mood for the better".

Thank you all for reading.