[[CHAT_SELF|09:20 PM]]

I'm outside.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Please come down.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I don't think I can do this…

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

I think you have the wrong number.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She stared at the screen. Shit. F#$k.

Of all the nights to type a number incorrectly, it had to be this one.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Sorry…

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

She locked her phone and looked through the windshield, tried wiping the fog off. But her sweaty palms made it worse. She let out a shallow sigh.

The building hadn't changed much. But it had aged, just like her.

The paint was flaking off in places, the walls stained black with years of moisture. But, it was the same pale walls. Same iron gate. Same light above the entrance that flickered every few seconds as though someone had been meaning to replace it for years.

She had been sitting in the car for twenty-three minutes.

Long enough for the engine to go cold. Her nervous sweating to cause all the windows to fog up.

Long enough to leave, more than twice.

But, she hadn't.

[[CHAT_OTHER|09:26 PM|UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Is everything okay?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She read it.

Then read it again. Her brain went - Why and who would ask this knowing it is a wrong number?

It would have been easier if he hadn't replied, she thought to herself. The concern felt weirdly nice, she almost smiled.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I'm fine. Wrong number. Sorry again !!

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You said you couldn't do it, made me curious.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Do you mind, if I may ask, what?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She was instantly furious, she immediately thought of a few choice words and thought what kind of person continued a conversation with someone who had messaged them accidentally at midnight?

And who would be so insensitive to ask something like this?

Then again, she was sitting alone in a parked car trying to convince herself to open the door, dreading the next steps in her great plan, after texting the wrong number and telling him she was fine.

“I should have checked my horoscope today before leaving home. I am making one bad choice after another,” she thought as one question after another hit her mind. Why did I just say that? What is wrong with me? Why am I still replying back?

[[CHAT_SELF]]

It's complicated and yes I do mind.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

🤷 I was bored and curious.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

I guess most things worth sitting outside for 20 minutes usually are.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Wait, how do you know I've been sitting here for 20 minutes?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

I didn’t. But WHOA !

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

You do know what they say right? Curiosity killed the cat.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

I am shocked at my streak of luck tonight.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

KILLED? You aren’t a serial killer or something right?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

23 minutes. And no, just someone who made the mistake of texting the wrong number and is contemplating if I am making another one.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

That's worse.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

This time she smiled. Barely, but she did.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Right. Thank you. I feel so much better.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You're welcome.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She let out a huge sigh, closed her eyes and put the phone down. She moved her hands to open the door and stopped. She opened her eyes again. The building seemed larger from inside the car. She knew what waited behind those doors.

A corridor. A staircase. Second floor. Third door on the right.

She knew every inch of that place, even after all these years.

That was the problem.

She reached for her purse from across the passenger side seat. She started searching for something, even she didn’t know what. Her phone buzzed again.

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Still outside?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Yes.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Want advice from someone completely unqualified, but totally invested in this?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Not really.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Perfect. I will take that as - not a no.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Do you consent to my semi-unsolicited advice?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

Another smile.

This one lasted a little longer.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Fine.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Don't go in.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

What?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You clearly don't want to. So don't. Go back.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She stared at the message. Something inside her tightened. She could feel the anger rising up as she thought - Why was this person getting on her nerves? Why was she letting him? What does he know about my life?

She was getting more and more irritated now. Whoever he was, he was annoying.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I drove three hours to get here.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

That means you had three hours to decide, yet you haven’t.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

You don't understand.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Correct. You haven't told me anything.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She hated him a little for that.

Whoever he was.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Someone is waiting for me.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

Her fingers hovered above the screen.

She looked at the building again.

A light was on upstairs. Third window from the left.

She remembered standing behind that same window when she was eight, waiting for headlights to turn on white cars into the parking.

At twelve, she'd stopped waiting by the window. At fifteen, she'd stopped waiting altogether.

She cursed her luck, of all the people in the world, the wrong number belonged to someone who was not only irritating but also insensitive. But something made her respond back.

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Hmmm.. someone you want to see?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I don't know, still..

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

So then, someone who wants to see you?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Apparently.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

That's not much of an answer, is it.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

How can I help you if I don’t know what I am helping you with?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Who said I need your help?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

He called me yesterday.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Who?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

My father.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

No Response.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

We haven't spoken in ten years.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Oh.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

That's your best unsolicited advice?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

Another five Minutes went by, she was now more irritated, not at him. But herself, why was she waiting for a reply from him. He’s just a stranger she contacted by accident and who has been nothing but intrusive and inconsiderate.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

??

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

By the way it was semi-unsolicited, and I never said you would like it or that I was good at this.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Sorry, I managed to burn my last packet of Maggi. Now I am both sad and hungry.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I'm having an existential crisis and you were making Maggi?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Hello … I was thinking of having dinner when YOU texted me. Remember?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Right. Sorry about that. But, who in the hell burns Maggi? My 8 year old godson makes perfect Maggi.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Oh please, I am an excellent chef. If I was not in this rat race, I probably would have been a famous chef, probably hosting a reality cooking show.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Also, it’s your fault. Your responses were so thrilling 😏, I forgot it was on the stove. You owe me a dinner now. BTW.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She laughed, not a smile. A full laugh.

She was alone in a car at midnight outside a house she had spent ten years avoiding, talking to a weirdly intrusive and annoying stranger.

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

But why now?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

What?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You said your father called you after 10 years, If I am not wrong. So Why now?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She kept looking at her phone. She herself did not have a perfect answer yet, there were so many.

Because he was old. She was tired. Her life was good, not perfect, but good. Because she was angry and she had carried it for so long that she could no longer remember who she had been before it. But none of those was the real answer.

A few weeks ago, she had been sitting in the chair in her bedroom.

The chair hadn't really been a chair for a while.

She'd bought it online because it looked aesthetic. One of those slightly oversized chairs, that wasn’t really comfortable but looked amazing. She had seen it in one of those Instagram influencer videos about their new home interiors. She thought it would add more character to her room. A chair by the window.

A warm lamp. A small table. A cup of coffee. A book.

She had thought she would spend her lazy Sunday evenings on it.

Instead, it had become home to a pile of clothes that were neither clean enough to go back into the wardrobe nor dirty enough to justify washing. The book was there too. Somewhere under them.

She had been trying to read it for almost six months and had still not successfully made it past the second chapter.

Every time she tried, something came up. Sometimes it was laundry, an email she'd forgotten to reply to. Something she needed to order. Something she'd ordered and forgotten to return. Work. Dinner.

That evening it had been dinner. She had finally cleared enough clothes off the chair to sit down, found the book, read perhaps four pages and remembered there was nothing in the fridge and she had ran out of groceries too. She picked up her phone to order groceries. Somehow, fifteen minutes later, she was on Instagram.

She wasn't entirely sure how that had happened. A reel of some ridiculously beautiful beach appeared.

White sand. Clear water. A villa none of them could probably afford.

She sent it to the girls' group.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

We NEED to do this.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER]]

YESSSSS

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

When???

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER]]

September?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER]]

Done. No cancelling this time.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

Someone started looking at flights. Someone else sent another hotel.

For twenty minutes they planned a holiday as though they were leaving the following morning.

But, the trip never left the group chat.

Somewhere between the beach reels and another video she couldn't remember watching, she found a meme that made her think of her ex. She sent it to him. They did that now.

Their relationship hadn’t ended badly. It started well, the honeymoon period ended, things were good. Nothing wrong. But it wasn’t amazing either. Somewhere along the way, both of them felt like what they had was not enough and eventually both admitted it and moved on.

They were friends now. Every now and then, she missed him. Sending him memes was easier than saying that. He reacted with a laughing emoji. That was the entire conversation.

She finally remembered the groceries. Milk. Eggs. Bread. Coffee. Detergent. She added a packet of biscuits to the cart without thinking. And then she did.

Her father used to buy those. The thought appeared from nowhere. She stared at the packet on the screen. It couldn't have been more than a second or two. She was out of dishwashing liquid too. And that was it, she hadn't thought about it again.

Until now.

As she sat in the car, with a stranger's message glowing on her phone and in her mind.

She typed, and deleted. Then she typed again.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

He said he was sorry.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

That's it. Ten years. And yesterday he calls and says he's sorry.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

That he had missed too much and wants to be a part of my life

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

The stranger didn't reply.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

You there?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Yes.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Then say something.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Do you believe him?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She had expected sympathy, maybe curiosity. Perhaps some real advice. What her friends would always tell her or her ex boyfriend. Life is short. He's still your father. Forgiveness is for you, not for them.

She hated all of those sentences.

But this stranger, the annoying and insensitive person had asked the one question nobody else even thought to ask. What did she feel

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I don't know.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Then maybe that's why you're still outside talking to me and not in there.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

What would you do?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

No idea.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Helpful.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You asked advice from stranger who is completely invested in a random person’s life at almost 10 in the night on a Saturday. My life choices are questionable too.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I'm scared.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Of him?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

No.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Then?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

That I'll forgive him.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

She reread the last message. Shocked at what she had just typed. She had never thought of this, of what she would do when she would meet him. She was so full of anger and hatred, that she had never conceived the idea that she was capable of forgiving him.

As she saw her own message, she realised a tiny tear had escaped from her left eye. She quickly wiped it off. But she could feel her heart constricting, a knot in her stomach.

She stopped breathing for a moment.

Every important person in her life, her friends, her ex - the very few people she had opened up about this had said so many things, all collectibles from some book of inspirational quotes. Some long messages, some monologues. But nothing felt right, she never felt convinced nor felt better about it.

And then at almost close to midnight, a random stranger who did not even offer a single piece of actionable advice, has made her face what she spent years keeping hidden.

She didn't reply.

She opened the car door.

The night air was colder than she expected.

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Why does that scare you?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Because I spent years hating him.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

And?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

What if I walk in there and all of it disappears?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

So what?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

So what? That’s easy for you to say. You have no idea.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

I don’t. And yes, it is.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Like I first said, you can still go back.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

I will say this though - whether you choose to forgive him or not, you will never know until you choose to talk to him.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You may still be angry with him even if you go inside. But, you will definitely have to live with that anger if you don’t.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

It does not matter how angry you are, or have been. What matters is what do you want to do now. Go in and see what happens or leave and wonder what if?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She stood beside the car.

The gate was ten steps away.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I'm getting out.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Terrible decision.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

You just told me to..

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Hey hey, I am just a stranger with questionable life choices right now.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She walked through it.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I'm at the gate.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Okay.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

At the door.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

I am dying out of curiosity.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

Her hand reached for the bell.

Stopped.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

I can't.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You have made it so far, you don't have to forgive him tonight.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You don't have to understand him either.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

You just have to ring the bell.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She pressed it.

Somewhere inside, a sound she remembered from another lifetime echoed through the house.

Footsteps.

Slow ones.

Then the light in the hallway came on.

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Still there?

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

She could see a shadow approaching through the glass.

Her fingers trembled as she typed.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

He's coming.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

The lock turned.

She put the phone into her purse.

And for the first time in ten years, the door opened.

[[DIVIDER]]

Six months later, his phone buzzed.

He was sitting at his desk, half listening to someone complain about something he'd probably forgotten to do.

He glanced down.

Unknown number.

For a second, he almost ignored it.

Then he saw the message.

[[CHAT_OTHER|11:20 AM|UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

I went in.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

He stared at the words.

It took him a moment and then he remembered.

The woman in the car. The father. The night of random conversation.

He smiled and typed a response.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Good.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

He looked at it.

Deleted it.

Typed again.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

⊘You deleted this message.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

How was it?

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

The reply took a while.

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Complicated.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

He smiled.

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Most things worthwhile in life often are.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

Three dots appeared.

Disappeared.

Appeared again.

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

Thank you.

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

He thought about asking her name. He had wondered about it more than once.

Instead, he typed:

[[CHAT_SELF]]

You're welcome.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

[[CHAT_OTHER||UNKNOWN NUMBER]]

😄

[[/CHAT_OTHER]]

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Goodbye, stranger.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

They never spoke again. They never knew each other's names.

He occasionally wondered what might have happened if, that night, he had simply replied:

[[CHAT_SELF]]

Wrong number.

[[/CHAT_SELF]]

Especially with everything he had gone through that day.