The Caller

Short fictional story about a young man who calls a suicide lifeline and the nervous person on the other end of the line.

“Lifeline, how may I help you?”  Elena Franklin wiped her moist palms on her jeans as she spoke slowly into the mouthpiece, trying to calm her shaky voice.

“Umm, yeah, hi,” a young masculine voice said on the other end of the line.  “Is this the, uh, the suicide line?”

Pulling her script closer, Elena asked, “How are you doing?  Have you made a plan?  Is anyone else there with you?”  Her words rushed out like a raging river, threatening to sweep her flailing mind downstream, amongst sharp, jagged, unforgiving rocks.

She wanted to do this.  She wanted to help.  She wanted to give back.  She’d been through the required training and thought she was ready but now, with her very first call, she wasn’t so sure.

A long, awkward silence filled Elena’s ears.

“Are you reading something?” the caller asked.  “Your words sound stilted, like you’re reading something.  I don’t know about this.  I mean, I can read stuff on my own.  I need someone to talk to.”

Another awkward pause.

“Are you there?”

Elena looked down at her script, tears welling in her sky-blue eyes.

“This was hard for me.  It’s the first time I’ve called a place like this but I don’t think you can help me.  I’m hanging up now.”

Her heart beating in her ears, Elena raised her voice.  “No!  Wait!  This is hard for me too.”

“Oh, yeah, right.  It’s your job.  Getting those paychecks must be really hard.”

Elena stiffened at the tone.  “Actually, I’m a volunteer, all chat counselors are.  We don’t get paid.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”  She started to relax a bit.

“You mean, you talk to a bunch of crazy people for free at four o’clock in the morning?”

A slight chuckle escaped Elena’s lips.  “Yes, I do this for free but I don’t consider callers to be ‘crazy’.  You don’t think you’re crazy, do you, sir?”

A long, low, hearty laugh sounded over the telephone line.  “You don’t have to call me ‘sir’.  I’m only twenty-years-old.  My name’s Niko.  Niko Errington.”

“Hi, Niko, my name’s Elena.”  Tension dissipated from the counselor’s muscles.

“I don’t guess I really think I’m crazy, but sometimes I wonder, ya know?”

“Yes, I do know.  What is it that makes you feel that way?”

“Well, I’m in college and my Mom thinks I’m too far away.  She wants me to come back home, work in my Dad’s hardware store, make up with my high school girlfriend, get married and give her grandchildren.  I’m not ready for all that.  I don’t want to do all that; not yet anyway.  I like school.  I’m on the Dean’s List; I’m making straight A’s.  I’m trying to focus on building a career so I can afford a wife and kids later in life but my Mom won’t let me.”

Elena nodded in understanding.  “What are your career goals, Niko?”

“I want to go pre-Med, be a doctor.  I haven’t really decided on a specialty yet, maybe researching the brain, finding out what makes us all tick, ya know?”

Smiling, Elena wondered if that could ever be truly accomplished.  “How does your mother feel about that?”

There was a slight pause.  “She thinks I’d be taking on too much, that it would be too stressful for me.  Honestly, Elena, basically the only time I stress out is when I try to talk to my Mom.  I love my Mom, of course, but I feel like I need to do something drastic; something really big to get her attention and make her realize that I can make my own decisions.”

“And you feel you’ve made a decision?”

“I don’t know.  I can’t decide.”

Both people involved in the conversation laughed.  Easily, comfortably.

“You’re funny, Niko,” Elena replied.

“Thanks,” he said quietly.  “My friends think so too.  They’ve been urging me to perform at The Laughing Hyena during open-mic night on Friday.  I’m actually thinking about it.  My Mom would hate it though.”

“Why?”

“She’s a very proper lady and it just doesn’t fit in with the image she wants to portray of her family.  I know it’s a terrible cliché to blame your problems on your mother but in my case, it’s true.”

“You said she wanted you to make up with your high school girlfriend was that a situation that led up to this phone call?”

Save the problems with his mother, Niko seemed to have the rest of his life in order.  She knew though, by experience, that one piece of contention could trickle down and affect everything else.

“Oh, no, not really.  We broke up a year-and-a-half ago.  I broke up with her.  She’s a sweet girl and I still love her as a person and all but we’d drifted apart.  We were going in different directions.  My Mom thought she would make the perfect daughter-in-law but I want someone who is perfect for me, not necessarily perfect for my Mom, ya know?”

Elena knew.  “Niko, I think you’ve had a breakthrough here.  You want to live your own life but at the same time you don’t want to disappoint your mother.  She has your life mapped out in a little nutshell but it’s not YOUR life.  Have you considered counseling?  A professional counselor could help you, could empower you.  He or she can give you scenarios and strong, yet gentle responses to use with your mother.”

A pause lengthened and Elena thought she heard crying.

“You really act like you understand,” Niko finally said.

“I do.  Just a little over a year ago I called this same lifeline with a similar situation as your own.  My Mom wanted me to marry my high school boyfriend and work in our family bakery.  Definitely not in my plans.  I already have two older brothers and a sister who work there.  They don’t need me in the mix too.”  She laughed.  “I go to school part-time, volunteer here part-time and work part-time.  Keeps my mind off things.  Counseling helped me a lot.  It taught me to say no, stand up for myself and not feel guilty.  Funny, now my Mom and I have a better relationship.”

“That’s great, Elena,” Niko said brightly.

“Oh, listen to me,” she said.  “We’re supposed to be talking about you and I’ve been babbling on about myself.  I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be.  You’ve helped me realize that I’m not the only one who has problems and that I’m not alone in my struggles.  I do have a question though.”

Reaching for a business card next to her desk calendar, she held it to the overhead light.  “The name and number of a good counselor?”

“No, well, yes.  I want that too but what happened with your boyfriend?”

Elena laughed again.  “Oh, pretty much the same as your girlfriend.  We just drifted apart as people do.  I think my Mom was more upset than I was.”  She read the counselor’s name, address and phone number to Niko.

 

“Feeling a little better now?” she asked.

“Much.  I can tell you’ve been doing this a while.  You’re easy to talk to.”

“Actually, you’re my first call.  I was absolutely terrified to say the wrong thing.  You were like a lifeline for me, believe it or not.”

“Really?”

“Really.”  Elena swore she could see a smile come through the receiver.

“Do you know where The Laughing Hyena is?” Niko asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Would you come Friday evening, as my guest?”

Elena was sure it was against some sort of organization policy but she was still learning to take control of her own life.  “Definitely.  What time?”

God works in mysterious ways.

Author's Note

Please give an overall review on this short story. Thank you!

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

The story was amazing. I like the feel of human content and the very good conversation. I like the honest talk and the two characters. You had me hooked to the last words. Outstanding job dear Melissa.
Coyote

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Coyote Poetry. This story is kind of near and dear to my heart. I have been on both ends of that phone call. Glad you liked it!

[Coyote Poetry]

Was a very interesting call and you are welcome.

[ANTO]

I pretty quickly forgot I was 'reading' and I 'read' - you know what I mean Melissa. You made me care for both characters in such a short space of time.
Well done.
:)

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Anto! Sorry I haven't responded sooner but I had a very busy weekend. I am glad you enjoyed this.

[wordman]

this sounds like it could be a great book,opens your eyes to the hurting people of this world

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, wordman! I have been on both sides of the call so I could easily relate to both my characters. Could possibly turn into a book -- I've actually never thought of it for this one. Hmmmm.....

[Megan]

This is a very good story and a very emotional piece. You did a good job here. The dialogue is natural, and the overall plot is touching. Nice work!

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Megan! I appreciate you reading and commenting. I have been where my characters are and so everything did just come naturally and from my own emotions as well.

[Jordan]

As far as dialogue goes, not bad. Very natural.

The story, aspects of it were close to home for me. I've been on both sides of the phone, in the mom situation, it's a pretty good story.

I didn't notice any grammar issues, it's structured well, overall great job.

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Kaiju. I have been on the caller end having tried to commit suicide several years ago. My short story, 'Shame', if you would like to read it (although it's not necessary) has fictional characters but it based on truth. Thank you for your kind comments. So many in the world are dealing with issues such as these.

[RedMistress]

It was really sweet. Coincidentally, it touches some aspects of my own life, and oddly enough, it did make me feel better. The conversation flowed naturally, nothing felt crowded or forced. I liked it.

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, RedMistress. I am glad you liked this. It fits in well with my true short story titled, Shame. I am glad this made you feel better. Life can be tough and I want others to know they are not alone in their feelings and they can seek help.