1st Fragment: The Call

1st Fragment: The Call

“Hey everybody, this is Amelia, your friendly neighborhood DJ, and you’re listening to Galaxy Radio. It’s very cold tonight. I hope you guys are feeling comfortable now. If not, I’ll accompany you till midnight by playing the best songs. Only for you. Our next song is coming right up! High and Dry by Radiohead.”

Amelia pressed the button on the control board to turn off the microphone. Amelia closed her eyes and rolled her neck to ease the tension. Midnight was still one hour away, and compared to the time she spent in college, this job was a lot easier. She loved her job and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Amelia’s mind was on the other side of reality, and she knew that she had lost something. There were times when she expected that the memory of her sixteen years of living would return to her. She rarely talked about this subject because it was quite sensitive: her father would brush her off and walk away to do whatever he had to do. Then there was her mother who would like cry like a baby while sobbing her apologies. Amelia didn’t want to make a fuss about it, but memory was still a memory; it was something that made Amelia the person she was now. No matter how trivial they were, Amelia couldn’t help but to feel lost without them.

One, two, three, four. She counted mentally.

Midway through the song, the LED blinked red, telling Amelia of an incoming call. Focusing to the task, Amelia toned down the music volume to greet her listener.

“Sorry to cut this lovely song, but we have another phone call here. Let’s welcome our friend now, shall we?”

Amelia pressed the blinking button.

“Hello, this is Amelia. Who’s speaking?”

“Noel.”

“Hi Noel, where are you now?”

“In my room. Two millennium away from you.”

Amelia blinked. That was a weird way to describe your whereabouts. However, Amelia being Amelia, decided to play along. "Okay, Noel. It's very cold tonight. I bet you're trying to make yourself comfortable right? Drinking tea and lounging around."

Noel laughed. A very rich voice that sent a pleasant shudder through the host's body. "No. I'm busy. You see, I'm building something now."

"Really? What is it?"

"A time machine."

Now that's freaky. Did this guy have screws loose or something? "Time machine, eh? What will you do with that?"

His answer was low chuckle followed by, "Not gonna tell."

This was the first time for Amelia to receive a call from this Noel character. Noel was a pretty generic name and Amelia had two friends named Noel back at college. But this guy was certainly not someone she knew. His voice was distinct; it was firm, full of confidence to the point of cocky but it had a slight sadness within.

Amelia wasn’t new to prank calls and she was sure that this call was one of those. She was tempted to hang up but stopped when Noel spoke to her.

“How are you tonight, Amelia?”

“I should be the one asking you that, but if you want to know, I’m fine.”

“That’s good.”

Amelia held her chin with her hand while listening to Noel’s voice. It wasn’t like her to daydream about her caller, but this time, Amelia made an exception. She made a mental imagery of Noel. She pictured him as a man in his late twenties, tall with a well-built figure, and had a pair of deep green eyes. There was no particular reason of why she chose the color green. It was just come to her.

“You said that you’re in your room working on your time machine. Can you tell me how is it going over there?” The question flowed effortlessly from her lips and she found herself cringing at her own stupid curiosity.

“It’s more like a workshop you know, but since I’ve moved my bed there, I call it as my bedroom. Anyway, my room is large. You can put four cars in it. It has five large windows that face the east so I can see sunrise every morning. My working bench is standing right next to my bed, complete with all the necessary tools I need to finish my work.”

“Wow, your room must be a mess huh?”

Noel laughed, and Amelia let out a smile she didn’t know she was holding. “Yeah. But I don’t care. I live alone anyway.”

“Alone? Where are your parents?”

“Dead.”

There was a small silent after that. Amelia shifted in her seat, feeling slightly uncomfortable and a bit guilty.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine,” Noel replied curtly, “it’s better like this actually.”

Amelia glanced up at the log monitor. This conversation was too long. She should be played another song and then shared her previously prepared topic to her listeners. Except now the conversation with Noel hooked her. A lot of the callers had interesting stories. Stories such as one-sided love, moving on from the destroyed relationship, marriage, kids, and those life stories. Amelia herself had shared her stories with her listeners—excluding the accident part of course—and received a positive feedback from them, a simple form of mutualism that created a virtual bond between Amelia and the rest of the world.

“Aren’t you lonely?”

“I am, but listening to you, I can forget about it for a while.”

She blushed.

“Thank you. You’re so kind to say that.”

There was another cackle. Amelia blushed deeper as if Noel was sitting in the same room with her and laughing at her.

“You’re sweet. I wonder what you look like in real life.”

“You’re aware that we’re on air right? I think it’s not wise for you to do this to me. I have many fans, you know. And last time I check, they’re not that friendly to strangers,” Amelia warned although her voice was still playful.

The man replied with a loud snort. “Ha! I don’t give a damn about them. What matters now is that I’m talking to you. And I’ve been waiting for too long to talk to you, Amelia.”

There was a pang in her heart, and a throb in her head. Something was building inside her. It was massive, like a tidal wave, and Amelia suddenly became scared of the magnanimity it would affect her. This wasn’t right, she knew that, and her conscience was screaming at her to end this session right now.

“Pardon?” that was all Amelia could say.

“The transmission is not good from here. You know, it took me years to enhance this, and I almost gave up. You know, Amelia? You’re the only one that can make me find my purpose again. I have nothing in this world, I’m useless, I’m alone. But your sole existence has changed that. You gave me something I never had. A reason to keep going.”

Amelia was sure that Noel was no different from any other crazy guys who called her, but she couldn’t overlook the sincerity that oozed from his voice. She was used to receive angry calls from those who held a grudge for the world. However, receiving this indirect confession was new to her, and Amelia was confused.

Holding her breath, Noel’s voice seemed to ignite something within her. Emotions, curiosity, sadness, longing… Amelia bit the insides of her cheek hard until she was able to taste the blood. She pressed her hand against her temple, hard enough to hurt.

“I suppose that’s a good thing, Noel.”

“It is,” he said quietly, “can I make a request?”

“Sure. What song?”

“I’m A Fool To Want You. Billie Holiday.”

“Who should I make it out for?”

Amelia waited, thank God she had a strong heart because she was sure that she would die this second by the way her heart was beating.

“You.”

Her finger floated above the button for a solid five seconds—she counted because if she had been doing her job properly then song should’ve been played by now.

“Because I’m a fool when it comes to you. Pity me, Amelia, because I really need you. It’s wrong, I know. Everything is wrong, but believe me. I never feel so sure in my life before. I’m not a bad person, I won’t stalk you, I won’t hurt you. I just want you to notice that you have a man who loves you here.”

The phone ended with a click, followed by a soft buzz. Amelia automatically pressed the play button.

She was sitting in silence and ignoring all the messages, e-mails or incoming calls that came to her. So lost in thought, Amelia tried to process the previous conversations but only felt a massive headache instead. She swallowed thickly and rushed to the toilet.

The cold water wasn’t enough of a help to clear her mind. But Amelia was persisted. She scooped another handful of water and splashed it to her face. One. Two. Three. Again. Again. Another.

What was she feeling? Nostalgia? Longing? Curse her for letting Noel affect her. It wasn’t meant to be like this. She didn’t plan it, and yet fate took her to another path that she was afraid to venture.

Somehow she raised her face, staring at her own reflection.

The girl in the mirror was unrecognizable.

Gaah, my first original fic!

I hope I'm doing it right!