At a quarter past nine, we exited the restaurant with overstuffed stomachs and reluctantly said our goodbyes. As I turned the corner and headed towards my car, I heard a phone ringing in the distance. “RING, RING.” I reached into my pocket to check my phone, but the screen was black. Then I realized the ring was an unfamiliar one I haven’t heard before. “RING, RING.” It wasn’t a fancy iPhone ring: not a “swoosh,” or a “ding,” or a “strum,” rather a ring from an old fashioned payphone. This particular noise reminded me of the spooky rings in horror movies. The famous, uncanny ring which comes from an abandoned payphone, and the only person ever around to answer is you… “RING, RING.” And that’s when it dawned on me… I quickly looked over my shoulder, to the left and then the right, and to my misfortune, there was no one around to answer the mysterious ring but me. I thought to myself, “Don’t answer that phone. Don’t you dare answer that phone. Why would you even think to answer it?! Everybody knows curiosity killed the cat. Don’t be that senseless girl who goes into the closet even though EVERYONE knows the killer is behind the door!” “RING, RI…” As the phone was about to end its fourth and final ring, I answered it out of pure insanity.

At that instant I could feel my heart racing faster and faster, pounding against my chest. I could hear myself panting heavier and heavier by the second. With the phone pressed against my cheek, I listened for the slightest sound. I jumped! Static crackled through the phone, startling me. “Hello?,” I cautiously murmured. Hesitantly, I waited for a response. “H-Hello? Is someone there?,” I asked once more as my nerves began to escalate. Again, there was no reply. Frightened and confused, I hung up the phone.

I proceeded to my car. Frantically digging through my purse, I seemed to find everything except my keys. All I could hear was the shuffling of papers, the crumpling of wrappers, and finally, the faint clanging of my keys. Rapidly, I pressed the button and heard the car “CLUNK” as it unlocked. I quickly got inside and locked the doors. I sat and pondered on the current event: “How did a payphone have an incoming call? How come no one answered on the other end of the call?” These questions filled my mind and left me dumbfounded. I put the key in the ignition and started the car. Panicking, I turned on my headlights and looked in my rearview mirror; my jaw dropped. I sat stunned in utter shock and terror. At that moment, I was staring my fate in the eyes. I turned to get a better look, and right there on my windshield, written through the dew, were the words, “you should have stayed on the line...”