Long Distance Call

  Jack awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. He cleared his throat, and answered “Hello?” There was static on the line and after a long pause, there was a response. He could faintly hear someone through the static, but the voice seemed far away. He repeated a hello, and the voice responded. “Hello? Jack? Can you hear me?” It sounded like Catherine’s voice but she sounded far away still, like maybe she had the phone upside down or was distracted. Maybe it had been a pocket dial? Catherine continued through the breaking and static “Jack. Can’t….talk...long...I’ve been...Jack? Be careful...love you” Before he could respond, the call ended. 

  He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked at his phone and noticed it was 3:33 in the morning. He called Catherine back, but it went straight to voicemail. Catherine was his younger sister, and lived over an hour away. She was a sophomore at her University, and was living in a house near campus with three other students. He tried to call again, and again it went straight to voicemail. Logically, he told himself, she must have had a bad connection and then just forgotten to put the phone on the charger. A dark feeling crept over him, and he shook his head. He ran his fingers through his shaggy auburn hair, and made up his mind to drive out later that morning for a visit.

  Eventually, he dozed back off. His dreams weren't exactly nightmares, but there was an overall ominous feeling throughout them. He dreamed he was pushing his sister on the tire swing in front of the old yellow farmhouse they grew up in. Something grabbed his attention, he looked away for a moment, and when he looked back over his sister was gone. The only thing in the swing was her favorite red sweater. After that dream he gave up on sleeping, and got ready to hit the road.