The mother-in-law called every night at exactly 2:00 AM: we were exhausted and furiousuntil we discovered the real reason.
After the wedding, my husband and I settled into a quiet, cosy life in our London flat. Everything was perfect until the first eerie call shattered the night.
At 2:00 AM sharp, the phone rang. Oliver woke before me, fumbling for the receiver, his face draining of colour.
“Mum is everything alright?” he muttered.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Darling, are you asleep? Is everything okay?”
It was odd, but we assumed shed had a bad dream or couldnt sleep. I even pitied herbriefly.
The next night, the phone rang again. Exactly 2:00 AM. The same hushed question.
“Darling, are you asleep? I just wanted to know youre safe.”
We grew furious. Exhaustion gnawed at us. Oliver stumbled through work, bleary-eyed. My patience frayed like old rope.
On the third night, I begged him to switch off the phones. But at 2:30 AMthe doorbell rang. There she stood, barefoot in a nightgown, her expression eerily calm.
“I couldnt reach you I was frightened,” she murmured, stepping inside as if it were midday.
I seethed. Oliver, ever dutiful, swallowed his frustration. He loved her, even as he admitted this wasnt normal.
A week passed. Dread crept in with the dark. We pleaded, shoutedonce, I even screamed. She only smiled.
Then, one night, we turned the phones off, desperate for sleep. She didnt come. Relief washed over us. For the first time in days, I woke refreshed.
At noon, we decided to check on herperhaps she was ill or cross with us.
The moment we opened her cottage door, the air thickened with decay. There she sat, lifeless in her armchair, the phone clutched in her stiff handsswitched off.
The coroner would later say shed died around 2:00 AM.
The realisation struck like lightning: the calls had stopped because she couldnt make them. Shed been afraidafraid of dying alone. And wed cursed her for it.
Always answer when your parents call. It might be the last time you hear their voice.
