The Names

by Kött Grá Pje

As usual, the phone rings at exactly 9PM.  You answer, say your name and hello,
but don’t expect the caller to say anything.  He never does.  But this time she says
hello.  It sounds like a young woman.  You ask her name and she begins to rattle
off a list of names.  Male and female.  You quickly realize that she’s naming
historical figures.  And characters from novels.  You hang up.  It’s three minutes
after nine.  The phone rings again.  Please don’t hang up on me, the caller pleads. 
You promise not to.  She picks up where she left off with her list of names.  You
don’t know all of them, but enough to know that she’s reading from the same list
as before.  She lists names into the night.  You fall asleep on the phone.  When you
wake up in the middle of the night, she’s hung up.  She never calls again.  Her job
is done.  No more names. You’ll miss her silent calls.  That’s just something you’ll
have to live with. 

Translated by Meg Matich.