- I feel like I'm dying. - His whisper echoes in my head as I press the cell phone to my ear, watching my friend's face with frightened eyes. - It's frighteningly cold out here.
I furrow my eyebrows, wondering what kind of place he's talking about when, despite it being late in the evening at this time of year, it's warm. It's so stuffy that there's nothing to breathe.
- Cold?
I could swear that for a moment I hear him grinding his teeth.
- Here they come.... They are coming to hurt me again. Please help me," he says. - His desperate voice causes me to put my hand to my mouth, and I am shocked. This is the first time something like this has happened to me. - No. I think they will do something much worse to me, though.
Chills shake my body. Henry sees how pale my face is.
- What is it? - he asks, but I don't answer his question, because I am focused solely on the voice of the boy who is talking to me on the phone.
- They want me to replace him, they are trying to create a monster out of me. It hurts so much. - I can hear him pulling his nose. - In the future, don't trust the owner of this number. Don't trust anyone because you are in danger.
A moment later, I hear a shrill noise ring out. His shout causes a lump to rise in my throat and I can't make a sound. My legs pressed to the ground, I am terrified.
- Solar, what's going on? - Henry is increasingly concerned about my behavior.
- I think this is not a joke. Someone needs my help," I whisper in a trembling voice, looking at my friend with wide-open eyes.
A scream full of pain tears my heart apart, a moment later the connection is broken. When I want to call the number back, all I hear is the voice of the electronic answering machine.
- I think something has happened to him....
- Stop talking nonsense. Someone is making fun of you.
- I can tell the difference between the truth and a joke, Henry. His voice was full of suffering. I don't believe anyone can play it so well.
- So what do you want to do? You don't know who it is or where it's located. What do you tell the police?
I put my hand to my forehead and close my eyelids. I don't know myself what I should do in this situation. This phone call has frightened me terribly.
- I don't know, and what should I do?
- What should you do? Go home, go to bed and forget about it. Don't get involved, Solar. You've already gotten yourself into trouble enough times. Haven't you had enough yet? How can you know who this man is?
My friend is right, and yet I can't erase from my mind the pained voice that asked me for help.
- This is the first time I've been so frightened. I don't know why he chose my number specifically, but he told me not to trust anyone, that I was in danger.
Henry rolls his eyes. He grabs my hand and forcefully pulls me towards the house.
- Go to sleep now, girl. Ever since you met that guy on the island, you've been dumbfounded. And literally.
*
I twist from side to side, all the while trying to make a connection with the man who called me earlier, but each time I hear the voice of the electronic answering machine.
I am concerned. I am afraid that something has happened to him. I blame myself that I didn't do anything to prevent the harm being done to him, even though he asked me to.
But, wait a minute.... if he didn't know who I was and begged me to help him, why did he mention that in the future I should not trust the owner of this number and that I was in danger? What did he mean by that? Was he the one who knew who he was talking to, though?
I have no idea what this is all about. This makes me even more terrified.
My heart goes up to my throat when a call from him appears on the display. He is calling again from the same number that was unavailable just a moment ago. How is this possible? Why does it frighten me so much?
I press the green handset and focus my gaze on the electronic watch, which shows three o'clock in the morning.
- I don't know why they are doing this to me, but it hurts so much. - His voice trembles. - They are striving for something. I am their product to achieve a goal.
- What are they doing to you? - I swallow my saliva harder as I hear him choke back tears. - Can you tell me more about the place you are in?
- They are subjecting me to torture.
I'm getting weak. I'm usually a tough girl, but all this makes me as scared as a child.
- How can I help you? Should I call the police?
- The police won't help me. - I hear his swallowing his saliva hard. - Only you can do it by talking to me, making me forget the pain.
- By talking? - I repeat, raising myself to a sitting position. - Is my help by talking to you?
- I want to remember this, Solar. You will never again speak to me in such a gentle, beautiful-sounding voice.
Holy shit, what's going on? He knows who I am!
- You lied to me. You said you didn't know me," I whisper after a long moment, breaking the silence. - Why did you do that?
All the time I get this silly impression that I'm talking to a handsome stranger I met on the island.
Am I really crazy about him?
I would say that someone is actually playing a prank, which is why he knows my name, but I find that hard to believe. How could someone play all this so perfectly? It's impossible!
- Because I can't reveal my identity to you.
The memory strikes me when the island boy announced to me that he prefers to remain anonymous.
- You are him, aren't you? You are the guy I met on Bali Island. I don't know what the game was, but all this time you had my number. You called exactly one year later, making fun of me.
- I promised.
- What - I furrow my eyebrows, clutching the cell phone in my hand.
- I promised to call you, so I did it before I died. I want to leave with a clear conscience.
On the one hand, I'm excited and my heart is pounding like a hammer, but on the other hand, I feel like throwing the phone against the wall, because this handsome guy is obviously making fun of me!
Tears come to my eyes, because like an idiot for a whole year, I have been thinking about him around the clock and wondering if he is alive, since he mysteriously disappeared from the island, and he calls me exactly twelve months later, claiming that he is dying.
The authorities declared him dead already a year ago!
- Who wants to kill you and why?
He remains silent for a long moment.
- What if I told you that I died exactly one year ago? The night we met?
Chills shake my body.
- What do you mean, you died? - I am full of panic.
- You were the first and last person to give me a little happiness, even if it lasted a short while.
After this sentence, the connection is broken. I move the cell phone away from my ear, looking at a single point on the wall.
I am confused. I don't understand anything about it. Nothing, absolutely nothing.
*
When I tell my friend about everything, he slaps my forehead with an open palm, telling me to come to my senses. He grabs my hand and forcibly drags me towards a psychiatric hospital, thinking that I am obsessed and have completely lost my mind, so I should start getting treatment.
He claims I'm mentally ill since I talk to ghosts on the phone at night.
- I swear I'm not making anything up! I'm terrified, Henry! - I shout, pulling my hand from his grasp. The boy stops in mid-step and looks at me with furious eyes. - I have his number in the call directory. I proved to you that he called me at three in the morning. He admitted that it was him!
- If it is indeed him, he is undoubtedly playing a prank.
- So what? You think he kept my phone number in his pocket for twelve months, only to call exactly one year later!!!?
- You don't know him. How do you know what a chump is? - Henry shrugs his shoulders. - You yourself had doubts that he was playing a prank.
- I know, but it's impossible. He wouldn't be able to pretend so well.
- Stop it, Solar! For God's sake! I repeat to you once again that you don't know this man! You only spent a few hours with him on the beach, so how do you know what he can and can't do? You are starting to annoy me!
I make an offended face, and it helps because he mellows out.
- I just don't know what to think about it. I'm confused.
The boy rolls his eyes.
- You wanted to say: stupid. I don't know why you even had a discussion with him. You should have hung up right away.
- And would you hang up if you heard that someone needed help? - From the look on his face, I conclude that he would indeed do so. Henry is already such an insensitive type of person. - Well... why do I even ask? - I shake my head. - But it's hot. I would eat ice cream. - I wave my hand in front of my face, trying to cool down.
- Then ask the island spirit to buy you one. - With indignation in my eyes, I watch my friend as he walks away from me, heading for the ice cream shop. - Don't even think of getting an ice cream from me! I'm going to buy one for myself! - he shouts, so I run up to him and jump on his back. - Get lost! Go to your new dead friend!
Teasing Henry, I look over my shoulder and notice that across the street is a boy who, despite the heat, is wearing a black sweatshirt. The hood covers half of his face, but discernible are his lips, which twist in an arrogant smile.
I get the strange impression that I am the target of his observation.
I let go of Henry and take another look in that direction, but there is no trace of the boy, he looks as if he has vanished into thin air.
Creepy.