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Esther lost her dad two years ago. He was quite old and suffered organ failure. Although he was able to die peacefully on his deathbed while holding his daughter, was his only family. He left with a smile, but still, it took a great toll on Esther. Her dad was her best friend, he was the only person she talked to.
After her Dad's death, Esther moved into his house. She couldn't wrap her head around his death, she felt connected to his belongings as it made her feel closer to him.
She would occasionally, wear his jackets at night and cry alone as she inhaled his scent. Another thing she was so connected to was his number—Esther called his line regularly just so she could hear his voice on the voicemail.
Esther was about to start her normal Saturday night routine—movie night with Dad. She would clean up everywhere, make some popcorn, put on his clothes, and select their favorite movies to watch that night. She even bought bulks of his perfume to rejuvenate his scent.
Sometimes, she would watch the movie and sleep off, and sometimes, she would cry herself to sleep.
Bzzzzzt... bzzzzzt... doooooooot…
Her phone, which she was lying on on the sofa, woke her up. She must have butt-dialed a number.
She cleaned her eyes, still feeling tired and sleepy, as she checked who she butt-dialed.
It was her dad's number, she was flooded with emotions all over again.
She waited patiently for the voicemail after the ringing.
But the ringing stopped and instead of the recording to play someone answered it—someone alive answered it!
Esther was in shock as she looked at the second count. She was scared, and deep within, she wished it was real and it was her dad, but she knew it wasn't possible.
“Hello," the deep male voice from the phone said. Her heart pounded; the voice was familiar, too familiar. She nearly dropped her phone.
Her chest tightened as she whispered, “Dad?"
The voice on the phone chuckled softly and said “Sorry, I think you got the wrong number,"
Her chest tightened the more, a part of her wished the voice said her name. And there was something about the voice that made the weight in her chest double. The chuckle had a mixture of emotions—sadness and joy.
“I-I must, s-sorry,” she stammered and gave a sorrowful low laughter “I must have butt-dialed you,"
There was an awkward pause between the two before the man said gently “You called me dad,"
Esther hesitated a while, she didn't need to talk to this stranger, but something about his tone and curious wait made her talk.
“I lost my dad,” Esther sighed with sadness as her brows dropped low, "this was his number,”
"Oh—I see,” the man said with remorse, "I lost my daughter too,”.
"I-i am so so—”
"She was just thirteen years old," the man didn't stop. “she was a very good girl. She was bright and kind, funny, she would always send voice notes instead of texts. She said hearing your loved one's voice had a special feeling to it,”
A smile ghosted Esther's face; this made her remember how she kept listening to her dad's voicemails so she could feel him close to her. "She sounds amazing,”
"She was, just like her mother,” the man murmured. “W-what about your dad? Tell me about him" the man asked Esther.
"He was a very kind person, he was always emotionally supportive. And he listened to me, he was my best friend and I never felt alone with him,”
“S-sorry he had to leave you," the man said softly.
“Yeah," Esther whispered.
For a moment they were both silent.
“By the way, I am David by name," the man said.
“Esther," she replied.
“Well, nice to meet you, Esther, even if it was by mistake," Mark chuckled softly.
"Nice to meet you too. I guess some accidents aren't so bad,” once again a smile ghosted her lips.
“J-just so you know, I am here to listen to you, just call me if you need someone to talk to," David said softly
“Thank you, that is so kind of you,"
“Nah, it's nothing. Besides an old man like me, I have absolutely nothing to do; you would be keeping me company,” David said jokingly.
Esther finally chuckled. “Once again, it was nice to meet you," she said with a warm smile.
"It is my pleasure,” the man said before cutting the call.
Esther stared at the phone screen. She stared at the number saved as ‘dad’. This was no accident at all, maybe this is what her dad wanted for her—to move on with her life, a happy life.
She smiled as she edited the number and changed the name it was saved as, from ‘dad’ to ‘David’.
The number she didn't delete because it once belonged to her father, and she felt deleting it would be erasing him. Now, it belonged to someone else—someone who understood her pain.
A drop of tears flowed from her eyes, but this time it was different—she didn't just feel grief, but she now knew she wasn't alone.
The call reminded Esther of the joyful moments she used to spend with her late dad. It also brought another person into her life, David, who may play the fatherly role in her life. I guess she was happy she buttdialled that number.
Yh she was
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Beautiful read. Just beautiful.
Thank you
This called child abuse
🤨 ?
A story full of emotions. Esther found a new angel in her seemingly accidental dialing. Coincidences don't exist and everything happens by a reason. I really enjoyed reading it. Very good work.
Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Excellent day.
Thanks for the kind comment