For a long moment, Alex could not move. The only things that seemed real were the ringing of the telephone and the frantic beating of Alex’s own heart. Fight or flight. Alex had tried to flee, and it had failed. Now, there was only one option left. With a deep, shaky breath, Alex walked into the house, closed the door, and went to the hallway table. The ringing stopped. A heavy silence fell. Alex knew it was waiting.

Slowly, Alex picked up the receiver. There was no static this time. There was only the sound of slow, calm breathing on the other end of the line. It sounded like someone was standing right next to Alex’s ear.

“What do you want from me?” Alex whispered, the words trembling.

The breathing stopped. A voice, clearer than before, but still cold and ancient, spoke a single word.

“Wait.”

Then the line went dead. Alex put the receiver down, feeling a strange new kind of fear. It wasn’t just a random haunting; it was a demand. But wait for what?

The next day, Alex drove to the small local library. Something about the house, its history, must explain what was happening. An old woman with kind eyes helped Alex look through the town archives. Alex searched for the address of the little house and found a newspaper article from fifty years ago. The headline was “Local Mother’s Tragic Vigil Ends.”

The article told the story of a woman named Elara. Her young son had disappeared while playing in the woods nearby. For weeks, Elara had refused to leave her house. She sat by her black telephone, waiting for the police to call with news. She told everyone, “He will be found. They will call me.” But the call never came. After a month of waiting, Elara was found in her chair by the telephone, having died of what the doctor called a broken heart. The article included a photograph of the house. And there, on a small table in the hallway, sat the very same black telephone.

Alex felt a deep sadness mixed with fear. It wasn’t a monster in the house. It was a memory. It was the ghost of a mother’s desperate, unending hope.

That night, Alex did not wait for the phone to ring. Just before midnight, Alex walked to the hallway, picked up the receiver, and spoke into the silence.

“I know who you are,” Alex said, voice soft but clear. “You’re Elara. You’re waiting for a call about your son.”

For a moment, there was nothing. Then, a faint sound, like a woman quietly crying, came through the phone.

“He’s not coming home,” Alex said, tears now filling Alex’s own eyes. “The call is never going to come. You have to let go. You have to rest.”

A single, heart-breaking sob echoed down the line. “Wait,” the voice whispered again, but this time it was not a command. It was a plea, full of pain and loneliness.

“I will wait with you,” Alex said, sitting down on the floor, leaning against the wall. “We can wait together tonight. But then, tomorrow, you must find your peace.”

Alex sat there in the dark for hours, holding the cold plastic receiver to an ear, listening to the quiet sounds of a ghost’s sorrow. No more words were spoken. As the first light of morning began to filter through the windows, the sound of crying slowly faded away into nothing. A final, peaceful silence filled the house.

Alex gently placed the receiver back onto the telephone. It felt different now. Just a normal, old object. The dread was gone, replaced by a feeling of calm. Alex stood up, walked to the front door, and opened it. The morning air was fresh and clean. The house was just a house again. The black telephone sat on the table, silent. It never rang again.

---

Vocabulary Notes

Frantic
Definition: Done in a hurried and chaotic way, usually because of extreme fear or worry.
Example: “…the only things that seemed real were the ringing of the telephone and the frantic beating of Alex’s own heart.”
Another example: After he realised he had lost his keys, he began a frantic search of all his pockets.
Similar words: Panicked, desperate, frenzied.

Ancient
Definition: Belonging to a time that was very long ago in the past.
Example: “A voice, clearer than before, but still cold and ancient, spoke a single word.”
Another example: We went to the museum to see the ancient Egyptian mummies.
Similar words: Very old, antique, old-fashioned.

Archives
Definition: A collection of historical documents or records that provide information about a place, institution, or group of people.
Example: “An old woman with kind eyes helped Alex look through the town archives.”
Another example: You can find the original plans for the building in the city archives.
Similar words: Records, historical documents, chronicles.

Vigil
Definition: A period when you stay awake, especially at night, to watch over someone or to wait for something important to happen.
Example: “The headline was ‘Local Mother’s Tragic Vigil Ends.’”
Another example: The doctors and nurses kept a constant vigil by the patient’s bed.
Similar words: Watch, lookout.

Desperate
Definition: Feeling or showing a sense of hopelessness that a situation is so bad it is impossible to deal with. It can also mean needing or wanting something very much.
Example: “It was the ghost of a mother’s desperate, unending hope.”
Another example: By the end of the day, we were desperate for a drink of water.
Similar words: Hopeless, despairing; (when wanting something) urgent, pressing.

Sob (can be a noun or a verb)
Definition: To cry noisily, taking in sudden, sharp breaths. A ‘sob’ is the sound of this action.
Example: “A single, heart-breaking sob echoed down the line.”
Another example: When he heard the sad news, he started to sob uncontrollably.
Similar words: Weep, wail, cry loudly.

Plea
Definition: An urgent and emotional request.
Example: “It was a plea, full of pain and loneliness.”
Another example: She made a public plea for the return of her lost dog.
Similar words: Appeal, entreaty, urgent request.

Faded away (from the phrasal verb ‘to fade away’)
Definition: To slowly disappear, lose strength, or become less clear.
Example: “As the first light of morning began to filter through the windows, the sound of crying slowly faded away into nothing.”
Another example: The beautiful colours of the sunset faded away as night arrived.
Similar words: Disappeared slowly, diminished, dwindled.

Story written by SteveUK & Google Gemini AI

Image created by Grok 3 AI

CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads

#Britishshortstories #learningEnglish #Englishspeaking #Englishspeakingpractice #Englishreading #Englishreadingpractice #readingEnglish #ieltslistening #Englishlisteningpractice #shortstory #storytime