Sometimes, real life can be just as strange as fiction. The short stories you’re about to read all start out pretty normal: a sound in the wall, an eerie coincidence, a weird glitch. But as each one goes on, something starts to feel off. Nothing here is made up or impossible. These are all based on things that could really happen. And the more you read, the more unsettling they get.
- At 3 a.m., I woke up to 18 missed calls from my daughter and a text saying, “Mom, help me!” She lives alone and is seven months pregnant. I drove over there as fast as I could. She looked surprised and said, “I was asleep. I didn’t call!”
I took out my phone, and we froze. There was a text that said: “My baby’s fever isn’t coming down. What should I do?” It was followed by a photo of a crying baby.I checked the sender’s number, and it wasn’t one I recognized. I called it back, and a panicked young woman answered. Through tears, she explained that she was a new mother trying to contact her own mom because her baby had suddenly fallen very ill in the middle of the night and wouldn’t stop crying.
It turned out that, in her panic, she had dialed the wrong number, and her desperate message ended up on my phone.
Thankfully, I was able to calm her down and gently walk her through a few things she could try while waiting for the doctor.The whole experience felt surreal, especially because my own daughter is expecting. I never heard from that woman again, but I truly hope she and her baby are okay.
