It was a rainy Wednesday afternoon in November, November 12, 2025, when Mrs. Ellis found the note.

She was walking home from the bakery, her shopping bag heavy with bread and cheese, when she saw it: a small, folded piece of paper stuck under the glass cover of the old payphone on the corner of Maple and 5th. No one used payphones anymore. Not since everyone had phones in their pockets. But this one still stood, rusty, silent, and strangely untouched.

The note was written in blue ink. The handwriting was neat, but hurried.

If you’re reading this, I didn’t disappear. I was taken.
The answer is in the third coin.
Don’t tell anyone.
—L.

Mrs. Ellis didn’t know who “L” was. She lived alone. She didn’t know many people. But she remembered the payphone. Five years ago, every Thursday at 4:15 p.m., a man in a grey coat used to call from it. He always paid with coins. Always three. Always the same three: a 10p, a 50p, and a £1.

She never spoke to him. But she watched.

Now, she looked at the payphone. The glass cover was cracked. Inside, a single coin lay on the metal tray. Not three. Just one.

A £1 coin.

Mrs. Ellis’s hands shook. She opened the coin slot. Inside, behind the coin, was a tiny envelope, so small she almost missed it.

Inside the envelope: a photo.

It showed a man sitting on a bench, smiling. He was holding a newspaper. The date on the paper: October 28, 2020.

The man was Mr. Linley. The quiet man from the payphone.

But Mr. Linley had been reported missing in 2020. The police said he left his house. No note. No clues.

Mrs. Ellis looked again at the photo. The newspaper in his hand… the headline read: “Local Man Vanishes After Payphone Call.”

She remembered now. That day, she had seen him. He had put in three coins. Then he had whispered into the phone. Just one word.

“Now.”

She had thought he was talking to himself.

Now she understood.

She went to the police station the next morning. She showed them the note. The photo. The coin.

The officer sighed. “Mrs. Ellis, we looked at this payphone five years ago. We checked every coin. There was nothing.”

“But there’s one now,” she said. “The third coin.”

The officer frowned. “The third coin? What does that mean?”

Mrs. Ellis took a deep breath. “Every Thursday, he used three coins. Always the same order. 10p, 50p, £1. The £1 was always last. The third coin.”

The officer opened the coin tray. Inside, the £1 coin was still there. He picked it up.

On the edge of the coin, barely visible, were tiny engraved letters:

L. D. 10.28.20

“L.D.,” whispered the officer. “Linley David.”

Then he turned the coin over.

On the back, scratched lightly into the metal, were two words:

I’M SAFE

Mrs. Ellis smiled.

The payphone had been a signal. The coins were a code. The third coin meant: “I’m still alive. I’m not gone. I’m safe.”

The man had planned it. He knew someone would notice. He knew someone would remember.

He had left his message… for her.

And now, it was found.

The police searched the area again. Two days later, they found a hidden locker in a bus station. Inside: clothes, a passport, and a letter.

Dear Whoever finds this,
I had to disappear. I saw something I shouldn’t have.
But I’m alive. I’m far away.
I left the coins so someone like Mrs. Ellis, someone who watches, would know.
Thank you for remembering me.
—L.

Mrs. Ellis never saw him again.

But every Thursday at 4:15 p.m., she walks to the payphone.

And she leaves a new coin.

Just one.

The third one.

And waits.

Just in case.

---

Vocabulary Notes

payphone
Meaning: A public telephone that you use by putting coins or a card into it.
Example: “She saw it: a small, folded piece of paper stuck under the glass cover of the old payphone on the corner of Maple and 5th.”
Similar words: public phone, telephone booth
Extra example: When I was a child, we used a payphone at the train station because we didn’t have a mobile phone.

disappeared / vanish
Meaning: To go away suddenly and no one knows where you are.
Example: “Mr. Linley had been reported missing in 2020. The police said he left his house. No note. No clues.” / “I didn’t disappear. I was taken.”
Similar words: vanish, go missing
Extra example: The magician made the rabbit vanish in front of the audience — it was very surprising!

coin
Meaning: A small, flat piece of metal used as money.
Example: “He always paid with coins. Always three. Always the same three: a 10p, a 50p, and a £1.”
Similar words: money, currency (note: “currency” is more formal)
Extra example: She saved her coins in a jar to buy a new jacket.

envelope
Meaning: A flat paper container used to send letters or small things.
Example: “Inside the coin slot… was a tiny envelope, so small she almost missed it.”
Similar words: letter, packet
Extra example: He put the invitation in a white envelope and mailed it to his friend.

engraved
Meaning: To cut or carve words or pictures into a hard surface like metal or stone.
Example: “On the edge of the coin, barely visible, were tiny engraved letters: L. D. 10.28.20.”
Similar words: carved, printed (but “engraved” means it’s cut into the surface)
Extra example: The wedding rings had their names engraved inside so they would always remember.

Story written by Qwen AI.

Image created by 1min.ai.

CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads.

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