It happened toward the end of summer, some years ago. At the time, I was working at a small café-bar tucked away in a residential neighborhood. The place rarely had any customers, so it had become a favorite hangout for me and my friends.
One day, while I was setting up for opening as usual, a friend of mine came in accompanied by his girlfriend. Normally, he was the life of the party and the brightest guy in our circle, but on that particular day, he was strangely quiet and even looked pale. I remember feeling a little worried and calling out to him.
"What's wrong? You look dead. Did something happen?" "Yeah... I had a really, really scary experience..." "What do you mean, scary? Another ghost story?" "..."
With that, he just clammed up. His girlfriend didn't say anything either, apparently sworn to secrecy. Since he seemed to have a strong sixth sense and had told me a few bizarre stories in the past, my initial reaction was just, *Ah, another ghost encounter.* But unlike before—when he would practically force us to listen—this time he refused to talk about it at all, just sitting there with his head in his hands, completely silent.
Gradually, my curiosity got the better of me, and I became determined to drag the story out of him. After persistently questioning both him and his girlfriend, he finally opened his heavy lips and began to tell me about his bizarre experience.
It went like this...
***
That day, after finishing up a training trip for his vocational school, he arrived at his local train station. Suddenly remembering that he had forgotten his house keys, he decided to call home just in case. Since it was rare for the house to be completely empty, someone picked up after just a few rings.
"Hey, it's me. I'm at the station right now. I don't have my keys, so can you unlock the door for me? Thanks," he rattled off before hanging up. Then he caught a bus and headed home.
When he arrived, to his annoyance, the door was still locked. Feeling suspicious, he walked around the perimeter of the house, but there was no sign of anyone inside—it was dead silent. However, since someone had answered the phone just a few minutes earlier, he figured they must be hiding somewhere out of sight from the windows.
Deciding to try calling again, he headed over to a public payphone located in front of a nearby tobacco shop. When he dialed, someone picked up after a few rings again.
*Clack. ..................* "Hey, it's me." "..." "Hello? Hello?!" "........." "Hello?! Hey, it's me!" "............................"
For some reason, the person on the other end just stayed silent. He tried calling back every few minutes, but he couldn't get through at all. Assuming the phone was broken, he decided to wait for his family in front of the house.
He stood there feeling lost for a while, until he suddenly remembered that a spare key was hidden by the entrance, and he finally managed to get inside.
***
However, the inside of the house was completely silent, and there was no sign of life in any of the rooms. Moreover, the phone showed no abnormalities and was working perfectly fine.
Thinking this was strange, he decided to make one more call from the public payphone. He made sure the front door was securely locked and hurried back to the payphone he had used earlier.
Feeling a bit nervous, he dialed the number, and just like before, someone answered!
Surprised, but still not entirely ruling out the possibility of a prank by his family, he called out to the person on the line.
"Hello?" "....." "Hello, it's you, sis! Answer me!!" "....." "Hey, who is this?!" "....." "Who the hell are you?! Just answer me!!" "..........."
After calling out for a while with no response whatsoever, he decided to give it one last shot.
"Who the hell are you? I know you're there! Someone's gotta be there!!"
Then, after a long silence, the person finally replied:
*“...There's... nobody here...”*
It was a voice with an eerie atmosphere, sounding as if it came from somewhere very far away—a voice he had never heard before in his life.
Panicked, he slammed the receiver down and rushed back to the house. When he got there, he immediately searched every room, but not a single window was left unlocked, and there was still no sign of anyone around.
However, there was one thing that sent a fresh chill down his spine.
The telephone receiver in the living room had been knocked off its cradle and was lying right on the floor.
Even now, whenever I tell or hear this story, I get goosebumps and feel the hair on my arms stand on end.
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