Ring

“Hello? Who is this?”
No one answered, just static on the line.  She’d been in the kitchen when she heard the ring.  No one ever called this late at night and she was leery about picking up the phone but she did it anyway.   She heard herself asking the question again and getting nothing so she hung up the receiver.  She normally wasn’t up this late but hadn’t been able to sleep well after coming back from the funeral so she thought maybe a snack would help.  She went back to the kitchen to finish her prep when it happened again.
**ring ring**
It sounded so much louder this time she almost dropped the plate in her hand.  She decided against answering this time but for some reason her voicemail didn’t pick up.  It just rang and rang for several minutes until she couldn’t take it anymore and picked up again.
“Hello?  Hello?!  Who is this?  Why are you calling me so late?”
Again, nothing.  Just some light static but right before she hung up she almost thought she heard a voice.   So strange…it sounded like her husband.  But he was dead, they had buried him earlier that day and there was no way it could be him.  She’d made sure of that.  But it was so eerie & strange.  She waited a few minutes and went back to the kitchen.  She’d just placed her plate on the table when it rang again.  It seemed even louder than before & she felt like she’d jumped out of her skin.   She waited…waited…several minutes passed but the phone kept ringing.   She pulled the cord from the wall and it stopped so finally she thought maybe she’d get some rest.  But once again it began to ring, even after she unplugged it the damn thing wouldn’t shut off!  She picked it up again and there was that familiar static, then the voice. Low at first but it got louder…enough that she could make out that it was HIS voice. There was no mistaking it now. She’d heard that voice every day the last 12 years…always nagging & belittling her, making her feel worthless until she felt like she’d had enough. She’d poisoned his morning coffee and laughed when he started coughing & convulsing. But she was careful not to leave any traces so no one was the wiser. He’d never taken care of himself so they assumed it was his heart and didn’t even bother to do an autopsy. But now he was back…and she barely heard what he was saying as she sunk to the floor sobbing.  “Don’t cry baby…I told you I’d never let you go and I won’t…ever…I’ll call you every day until you go insane! Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I can’t find you. No matter where you go I’ll be there…anyone you’re with, anything you do I’ll know. *snickers* You have no idea what Hell is like…not yet. And I have all the time in the world.”