Ring

I can't stand the ring of my phone. No matter the hour of the day, that ring makes me jump. It is now synonymous with the harassing and disgusting phone calls from man in the middle of the night.

I can't stand the silence in the middle of the night when the phone does not ring. I lay awake in my bed, staring at the shadows, anxiously awaiting the ring. And it doesn't come. And my night has been wasted waiting. For nothing.

Sometimes I turn the ringer off but I am afraid of what comes next. I am afraid of the silence I have created because I know that it doesn't mean the terrorizing is over. Turning off the ringer merely postpones the inevitable. And it seems to anger him, causing him to call five or six times the next night.

Today I tried to change the tone of the ring. But I immediately changed it back to the original sound because I don't want any other sound to remind me of him and the three months of torture I've endured. When this is over, I will change it. And then there will be no trace of him in my life. No reminders. No jumping. No anxiety.

I cannot wait to change the ring.