The phone rang in the middle of the night.
Daniel opened his eyes slowly. The cabin was completely dark. The silence in the mountains was so deep that the sound felt unnatural, as if something inside it had been broken.
The phone rang again.
He sat up and looked at the clock: 2:17 a.m. No one called him at that hour.
He reached for the receiver.
“Hello?”
At first, there was nothing. Just silence. Then, a voice.
“Daniel.”
He frowned.
“Yes. Who is this?”
The voice was calm. Too calm.
“It’s been many years.”
Daniel waited, but the voice did not continue.
“Who are you?” he asked.
Another pause.
Then:
“Tell me something…”
Daniel tightened his grip on the receiver.
“Do you remember the summer of ninety-nine?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Before he could speak, the call ended.
The silence filled the cabin again. But this time, it didn’t feel the same.
Daniel remained sitting in the darkness, listening to the silent forest outside. Somewhere in the distance, the wind moved through the pines.
Slowly, he placed the receiver back on its base.
Sleep had vanished.
And for the first time in years…
Daniel realized the past had just caught up with him.