Based On A True Story Part 7: Call

Probably one of the most brilliant ideas I have ever thought of was for him to call me. Not through long-distance call; that’s too expensive, but from the Skype application on my phone. Although he won’t be able to see me, at least he could hear my voice. At that time, I had hoped that he won’t mistaken me as a boy.

Phone calls make me nervous, I don’t know why. And I have always hated how everyone tells me that I sounded like a boy on the other end of the line; they could not recognize me, even my dad used to mistaken me as someone else and they often make fun of me for it. And as I signed on in Skype from my phone, I wondered if, he too, will react the same.

Then I was online.

I was sitting in front of the laptop, holding my phone as tight as I can in order for it not to slip from my sweaty hand. In just a few seconds, he will call and I would not know what to do. And for a moment, I thought my brilliant idea was not so brilliant at all. Or maybe I was just really too self-conscious of my voice. I did not want him to dislike it and so, I sort of practiced talking by myself for a second, and then my phone rang.

“Bry calling”

“Oh crap, here we go..” I thought.

I clicked the green button and nervously placed my phone by my ears. And as soon as I heard him talking on the other end, all those few words I had practiced vanished from my mind in an instant. My mind was blank, and my throat was suddenly dry; at least I was still able to say, “Yeah” but other than that, I did not say anything else.

I listened carefully to every sound I heard; imagining what the room he was in would look like. I heard the creaking of his office chair and sometimes, someone walking up and down the steps. He said he was in the basement, but I imagined the same white walls of the kitchen. I barely talked; I would have preferred for him to do the all the talking so that I could listen. His voice was like music, and I would have let it play over and over and I still won’t get tired of it. He finally asked if I was shy, and of course I am, and so I said yes and he laughed. It was beautiful. That three Skype second of laughter made my heart melt. I wanted him to laugh more, talk more, just so I could listen.

My ears were hot and so was my phone. It did not took long before it said that the battery was dying and so I scrambled up to my feet, making noise to let him know I’m not a cat, and plugged the phone in. It felt so hot I thought it would explode, but thankfully it didn’t. The phone’s charger was too short that I could not get anywhere the laptop and so I was stuck sitting on the floor at one corner, switching the phone from one ear to the other.

From then on, I started calling him and listened to his voice while at the same time trying to get myself to talk. It was hard, for my tongue felt as if it was curling up and I could not speak clearly. It was the first time when speaking English was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I was willing to try. I am willing to do anything, just so I could hear him laugh and talk. He did not say anything about my voice, he just recommended for me to talk more. I had to leave for an appointment that day, but his voice continuously echoed in my mind.

(Source: cloudbearer)