Independent Caller

She woke just in time to respond to the nagging pressure from her kidneys. Her cellphone was vibrating on her bedside table. Aside from the unbearable desire to pee, this was what woke her up. The caller is not listed on her phonebook and the number has a +49 area code.

She never had a caller with this area code. Could this be her mother? But her mother who works in Hong Kong has a +85 area code. Maybe it's her friend from Norway. That's strange; why would she call at 1 o'clock in the morning? Perhaps, it's her aunt from Singapore? No, that's not her area code for sure. She felt a sense of dread when she thought that it's probably the people from the scholarship she applied for. Are they calling to confirm her acceptance? Her palms started to sweat and her heart skipped a beat, but before she could answer the phone, it stopped calling just like that. She got lost in the silent darkness and for a moment she forgot that she's supposed to go to the restroom. Nah, it's a probably just a prank call or somebody who dialled the wrong number. It was best that I didn't answer it, she thought.

After relieving herself, she went back into a fitful sleep.

The next morning was a holiday, Independence Day to be exact. Lying on bed, savoring the hassle-free morning, and mulling over the activities she planned for the day, her thoughts drifted to the unknown caller. She got up, opened her netbook and checked the +49 code in Skype. Her friend from China popped her a message. She's not in the least interested to have an early morning conversation, but perhaps she could talk to her about the early morning call. So she typed back with an enthusiastic how are you and asked whether she knows what country has a +49 area code. Her friend responded Germany.

That's strange. She doesn't know a single soul in Germany. Hitler maybe and Anne Frank...

Her friend asked her why she didn't answer the call. She replied that a call from an unlisted number early in the morning gave her the creeps. It reminded her of the movies where the caller's just standing with knife ready to strike behind an unsuspecting victim. Her friend said, grow up. Next time he/she calls, answer the phone, ok?

Ok, she replied. So that day, Independence Day, she missed called the unlisted number twice. Once at 9 o'clock in the morning and once at 7 o'clock in the evening. That'll encourage the caller to call back, she thought.

True enough at 3 o'clock in the morning the next day, the same number called and woke her up. The conversation went like this:

Caller: Hello, why did you call me today?
Callee: You called me first.
Caller: Oh, I'm wondering. How much do you charge for your English class?
Callee: I haven't thought about that. You're from Germany, right?
Caller: Yes.
Callee: Where did you get my number?
Caller: From the Internet.
Callee: And what's your name?
Caller: Matthias. M-A-T-T-H-I-A-S
Callee: How old are you?
Caller: I'm 30 years old.
Callee: What are we going to use if we're going to have a class? The phone, the Internet?
Caller: Skype
Callee: Why do you want to learn English?
Caller: Just for communication.
Callee: Actually, it's 3 o'clock in the morning now.
Caller: I'm sorry. I'll call again some time.
Callee: Yes, please do. What time is it there?
Caller: 9 in the evening. I'll call again some time.
Callee: Please call three hours earlier or so. Goodbye.
Caller: Goodbye.

So, the unknown caller turned out to be a 30 year-old German named Matthias who wants to learn English. She was excited with the prospect of teaching someone from Europe that she could no longer sleep. Later that day, she asked her friends how much she would be charging this German for a one hour English class. Her colleagues suggested $10/hour. Europeans are rich anyway. She thought $7.00 is fine, but her friend said stick to $8.00. That night, she anticipated the call.

When the call didn't come, she decided to send him a message about her fee and she thought about the many topics that she'll be sharing with this German. She thought that he must be handsome since his name sounds handsome enough. His voice followed her throughout the day. It wasn't the nicest sound what with his heavy accent, but the memory's enough to make her smile.

She waited and waited for his call, but he didn't call. He never did.

At this point she felt sad. Did he think I was too expensive? She regretted the message she sent. She wanted to send her a message again, this time she'll say her services will be for free. It's just for communication, anyway. Besides he could use a friend, right?

But he never called again. And still with her sense of pride, she never tried to contact him, too.

Sometimes, early in the morning and when she'll have that nagging pressure from her kidneys, she would check her cellphone to see that maybe there would be a message from him or maybe a missed call. But no messages nor calls from him. There's only the silence of the night and that urged to pee. She feels utterly alone.