A Call in the Night

You're traveling through another dimension -- a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's a signpost up ahead: your next stop: the Twilight Zone!


Cue spooky music.

I’m sure the theme music from that once popular show was playing if only I had listened close enough, but with the TV on and a noisy movie with gunfire and police sirens, I probably missed it. It was the phone and its weird ring that got my attention. The phone system here at the humble abode is nothing fancy; a three unit wireless set-up made by Panasonic with a ho-hum electronic ringer, nothing unique as with so many of the cell phones.

I was home alone—except for the cats off course—at night, the Missus being off on another saintly mission somewhere or maybe one of her many social obligations, when the phone rang. Nothing scary about that, happens all the time, but this ring was different, not the normal spacing between rings but a two ring burst, silence, then another two rings.

 ring-ring…ring-ring.

This sequence was not totally new to me as the Panasonics have a phone to phone paging/intercom feature. It comes in handy in cases such as when I’m in the man-cave and need to know how many beers are left in the fridge. I simply pick up phone #1, hit Intercom, and press the digit 2 to page phone #2 in the kitchen. In truth, it doesn’t work exactly like that because the Missus ignores the call and yells for me to get off my butt and come to the kitchen if I want to talk.

But on this particular evening—remember, no one else is in the house—I get a page call.

ring-ring…ring-ring.

Now, I know the cats can be pretty innovative at times, especially when they want to be fed, leg rubs, lap jumps, nosing the food bowl along the floor, that kind of thing, but I’ve never had one of them call me on the phone to order out.

ring-ring…ring-ring.

I muster up my courage and lift the receiver to see exactly what phone the page is coming from. The LED display reads Phone 0. There is no Phone 0 in the house, only #1, #2, or #3. Can you hear the music now? I could. Should I answer it? Had to, had to know.

“Hello?”

Nothing, no one there. Thank God. But I would not have been at all surprised to hear Rod Serling say, “You've just crossed over into... the Twilight Zone.”

Creepy Rod Serling