I was nervous as I lay on the hospital bed, waiting for the surgery that could save my life. I had been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, and the only chance I had was to undergo an experimental procedure that involved implanting a device in my skull. The device was supposed to deliver targeted radiation to the tumor, while sparing the healthy tissue. The doctors told me that the surgery was risky, but that it was my best hope.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself, thinking of my partner, who was waiting for me in the lobby. They’ve been so supportive and loving throughout this ordeal, and I couldn’t wait to see them again. I felt a slight prick in my arm, and then a warm sensation spread through my body. The anesthesiologist told me to count backwards from ten, and so, I did.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three…
I woke up to a bright light and a beeping sound. I blinked and tried to focus, feeling groggy and disoriented. I saw a masked face hovering over me, and heard a voice say, “You did great, the surgery was a success. The device is working, and the tumor is shrinking. You’re going to be fine.”
I felt a surge of relief and joy, and tears welled up in my eyes. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry and sore. The voice continued, “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to talk soon. We’re going to take you to the recovery room, where your partner is waiting for you. They’re so happy to see you.”
I nodded and smiled weakly, feeling a wave of gratitude and love. I was alive, and I was going to beat this cancer, and my partner and I? We were going to be happy.
The next few days were a blur of tests, medications, and visits from friends. Everyone was amazed by my recovery, and told me how lucky I was. The doctors said that the device was working perfectly, and that I would be able to go home soon.
I went home with my partner, and we settled into a new routine. We worked from home, using our laptop hooked up to our TV using an HDMI cable, we began a marathon of my favorite movies. We were happy.
But then, something strange started to happen. I began to receive a phone call, from my cell phone that I left on my desk. But when I went to answer, the call failed, as well as not showing up properly in my call logs. I thought it was a glitch, or a prank, or a wrong number. I didn’t think much of it.
A couple of nights later, my friend Mark invited me out to dinner with just the two of us.
I was pleasantly surprised, as I rarely if ever get to meet up with Mark, so I agreed to go. I told my partner that I was going out to dinner with Mark, and that I would be back soon. They kissed me, and told me to be careful, and that they loved me. I told them the same, and left.
I met Mark at the restaurant, and we sat at a table in the corner. The restaurant was full and bustling with life, conversations seemingly never ended.
We were almost done with our order, when the waitress got a phone call. She excused herself and answered it, speaking in a low voice. I saw her nod and smile. She hung up and came back to us, apologizing for the interruption. She said,
“I’m sorry, it seems the call is coming from inside the house. That’s code for ‘We need you in the kitchen, there’s a lot of orders’. Are you guys done with your order?”
Mark and I looked at each other, and shrugged. We thought it was a weird way of saying that, but we didn’t make a big deal out of it. We told her that we were ready to eat, and she took our menus and left.
Later that night, as I was driving home, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I glanced at the screen, and then the call failed, just like it did around a week ago.
Two days went by, no mysterious phone calls or weird. I almost forgot about that weird encounter at the restaurant. Everything else was going great. Then, on a random Sunday afternoon, our movie marathon was suddenly interrupted with a message we had both wished we had never heard:
“We have some shocking and disturbing news to share with you. A new virus has emerged, and it is spreading rapidly across the world. The virus is highly contagious and deadly, and it has no vaccine or cure. The World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic, The virus causes severe visual impairment, hallucinations, internal bleeding, and death…..So far, the virus has a low mortality rate, with only three reported deaths. The virus has been named LumaEtaVirus, and it is unknown where the virus had originated from exactly, but it seems to be local to a specific area in Kansas, all actions must be taken to preserve human life”
My partner was sitting next to me, and looked as shocked and scared as I was. They held my hand, and squeezed it gently. I didn’t know what to say, or what to do. My partner said, “I can’t believe this. I can’t handle another global pandemic.”
I lowered my head in disbelief and, barely being able to get the words out of my mouth, said,
“I don’t think I could handle this either”
My partner said,
“I know. It’s terrifying. It’s unfair. It’s cruel. Why here? Why now? Why after everything we’ve been through? Why after things were just beginning to become normal again?”
They paused before exclaiming,
“Especially you. You’ve been through so much. You’ve fought so hard. You’ve overcome so many obstacles. You’re just beginning to beat cancer. You’ve recovered from surgery. You’ve lived with a device in your head. This could end everything we’ve been working hard for!” They were practically screaming and sobbing at the end.
I said,
“Don’t say that. We’re still here. We’re still together. We’re still alive. We’ve done it before. We can do it again. We’re stronger than we think. We’re stronger than this virus.”
My partner said,
“I’ve been preparing something for us, and I think you’ll love it. But we have to go now, before it’s too late. Before they enforce lockdowns, and we’re stuck at home again. Come on, we gotta go. I’ll meet you in the car, Hun.” They said as they scurried into the kitchen.
They drove me to a secluded spot, where they had prepared a picnic for us. It was a beautiful place, with a lake surrounded by a forest. The sun was setting, and the sky was painted with orange and purple hues. The water was calm and clear, reflecting the colors of the sky. The trees were tall and green, providing shade and privacy, and the clouds were in neat little rows, making the sunset infinitely prettier, making the clouds multiple pretty shades of pink. The air was fresh and crisp, and I could hear the birds singing and the crickets chirping. We we’re all alone, just the two of us, and it was beautiful, although I couldn’t help but think this would be our life for a while, ironic how we decided to spend our final time in a free, pre-lockdown environment alone, instead of with our friends.
We had brought a basket with food and drinks, and a blanket to sit on. They had also brought a portable speaker, and played some soft music. They smiled at me, and kissed me gently and said,
“I love you, and I’m so proud of you. You’ve been through so much, and you’ve been so strong. You deserve this, and more.”
I came in for a hug, and thanked them. I said,
“I love you too, and I’m so grateful for you my angel. You make me, and I couldn’t ask for anything more”
We ate and drank, and talked, laughed, and watched the sunset, their hair perfectly highlighted by the sun’s rays, only making the moment ever more beautiful.
Just then, their phone rang, and they looked at it. Frowning, they said, “It’s my boss. I wonder what he wants. I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
I couldn’t hear the phone call, and had to go off of facial expressions.
We exchanged puzzled looks, and they said, “What? What do you mean? What call?”
There was a slight pause.
“I don’t understand. What are you talking about? What’s going on?”
The phone call ended, and the one was removed from their face.
“That was… weird. My boss just called me, and told me ‘There’s a metting tomorrow at work, just in case we go into lockdowns.’ and then said ‘The call is coming from inside the house’ and then suddenly hung up. I’ve never heard that phrase before.”
We stared at the phone, and, even though I didn’t hear what their boss said, I felt a chill run down my spine.
I said, with my voice slightly quivering,
“I have. I heard it a couple of nights ago, at that restaurant with Mark. The waitress said it, and she said it was code for ‘We need you in the kitchen, there’s a lot of orders’. I thought it was odd, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.”
“That’s… strange. Why would they use the same phrase? And what does it mean? It sounds creepy.”
“It reminds me of that old horror movie, where the killer calls the babysitter, and says ‘The calls are coming from inside the house’. It means that he’s in the house, and he’s going to kill her.”
“That’s terrifying.” They said.
I said, “but I hope not. I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately, and they always end before I can answer them. And they don’t show up in my call logs. It’s like they never happened.”
“That’s… weird. Maybe you should talk to your doctor, and see if there’s something wrong with the device. Maybe it’s interfering with your phone.”
I felt a sense of fear, and felt a little dizzy, then said,
“Maybe. But I don’t want to worry about that right now. Let’s just enjoy this moment, and forget about the weirdness. We’re here, and we’re together, and we don’t know when things will change for the worse, so we might as well
They nodded, and smiled.
“You’re right. Let’s not let this ruin our date.”
We watched the stars just beginning to show up in the night sky. We tried to ignore the phone call.. the phrase. We tried to pretend that everything was normal.
But deep down, I knew that something was off, and that something was coming.
Around a week later, after running a couple of errands, we were walking on the sidewalk, when a car swerved and hit me. Once I had landed on the ground, I felt a sharp pain in my head, and blood gushed from my head wound. My partner screamed, and rushed towards me. I heard everything around me become muffled, as if somebody had pushed some pillows up against my ears while I was about to pass out. It was oddly comforting, given what had just happened. Suddenly, my phone rang. Clear as day, I heard it to my left. I reached for it, and saw that it was my partner. I wondered how they could call me, when they were right next to me. I answered the phone, and heard them say,
“Hey, sweetie, let’s go home.”
The world went completely black, as if I were in a giant black box, and I could hear them perfectly. I felt a jolt of fear and confusion, and wondered.
“What are you talking about? Where are you?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. But you’ll see soon enough. Just trust me, okay? I love you so, so much.”
“I love you too, but I don’t understand. What’s going on? What’s happening to me?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You’ll be better than fine. You’ll be free. Just close your eyes, and let go. You have to trust me.”
I felt a cold and metallic sensation in my head, and a sudden flash of light, and a warm flush sensation in my body. I closed my eyes, and let go.
I slowly opened my eyes, and saw a bright light and a beeping sound. I felt groggy and disoriented, and I tried to remember what had happened.
“Hey, sweetie, you’re awake. You did great, the surgery was a success. The device is working, and the tumor is shrinking. You’re going to be fine.” They smiled and kissed my cheek lightly.
I felt a surge of relief and joy, and tears welled up in my eyes. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry and sore. I couldn’t make a sound, and I felt frustrated and scared. I wanted to say that I had a terrible dream, that I could barely remember what I had just experienced. and that I saw things that I couldn’t explain. I wanted to say that I loved them, and that I was so glad to see them.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be able to talk soon. The doctors said that it’s normal, and that it’s just a temporary side effect of the anesthesic. They said that you’ll recover your voice in a few days, and that you’ll be as good as new. I know you have a lot of questions, and I’ll try to answer them as best as I can. But first, let me tell you something. I love you too, and I’m so happy that you’re alive. You’ve been through so much, and you’ve been so strong. You’ve fought so hard, and you’ve won.”
I was softly kissed again, and I felt a wave of love and gratitude. I wanted so badly to say “I love you, too”, but I couldn’t.
With full view of my partner and the desk next to them, there was a familiar ringing sound eminating from nearby.
With both of us looking over at their phone, they started to shuffle in their seat to answer….
Then the call failed.