A Conversation with a Stranger

My job is to talk to people. I have been doing this for years and although I have had my fair share of strange calls, nothing could have prepared me for the call I had with a stranger. All of a sudden, I received a phone call from a stranger. When people ask me about this call, I say it was a prank caller. I do not want to think about it, but sometimes my mind wanders.<br><br>I was working as a customer support representative in a small company. My work hours were from morning till afternoon, so I did not have to work night shifts. It was around one o'clock in the afternoon when my phone rang.<br><br>“Hello, thank you for calling *Company Name*. My name is *My Name*. How can I help you today?”<br><br>“Hello. I just want to talk to you. I want to ask you a few questions.”<br><br>I was kind of surprised, but I try to be as professional as possible. I have had prank callers before and I know how to handle them. Some of them want to harass you; some want to scam you, while others are just bored and want to waste your time.<br><br>“Sure. Anything you want to ask.”<br><br>“Okay. First question. When was your first time?”<br><br>I knew it. This was going to be one of *those* calls.<br><br>“I am sorry, but I think you have the wrong number. I work for *Company Name*. Do you have any questions about our products or services?”<br><br>“Oh, sorry. I did not know. I think I got the wrong number. Well, in that case, I have a question. Do you use your products and services?”<br><br>I knew the caller was bullshitting me, but I decided to play along.<br><br>“Well, I personally do not use our products and services very often. However, I do recommend them to customers and friends. I do not own a car, so I prefer to use public transport for personal stuff.”<br><br>“Oh, I see. So you do not own a car?”<br><br>“Nope. Unfortunately not.”<br><br>“Do you have a driver’s license?”<br><br>“Yes. I do. I got it when I was twenty-two.”<br><br>I noticed the caller was not bullshitting me anymore. I could tell because the tone of their voice changed.<br><br>“Mmm. Okay. Last question. How old are you?”<br><br>“Twenty-seven. Thank you for calling *Company Name*. Have a nice day.” I hung up the phone.<br><br>I have a lot of experience in handling this kind of situation, so I can tell a lot about the caller and the situation. For instance, I am pretty sure that it was a guy who called me. I can tell a man's voice apart from a woman’s voice. Second, I can usually tell where the person is from by their accent, but I could not pinpoint a specific accent from that caller. Lastly, I can usually tell when a caller is full of crap and the few times the caller stumbled over words and phrases, I could tell they were not bullshitting me.<br><br>I shook my head, gave a sigh of relief, and forgot about it. After all, I have had my fair share of similar calls and I usually forget about them as soon as the call is over. It would have been better if I had forgotten about it completely, but one thing about the whole situation caught my attention.<br><br>“Do you have a driver's license?”<br><br>It was a straightforward answer to a straightforward question. However, when I answered, I could tell the voice on the other side was not expecting that answer. Call it instinct. Call it experience. Call it whatever you want, but I could tell the person on the other side was surprised. It was the same kind of surprise I felt when I realized I got the wrong answer in an exam. The caller did not expect me not to have a driver's license and they were surprised when I told them I did. A few days after that call, I thought about the conversation and I realized something. The caller did not expect me to have a driver’s license because they knew me. The caller knew my name and knew I did not have a driver's license. They were surprised because I told them something they already knew.<br><br>Some of you are probably thinking I was talking to my future self or something like that, but that did not make any sense. It is nonsense. I was either talking to a person who knew me or a person who wanted to play a prank on me. Maybe the caller was a friend of mine who thought it was funny to call my workplace and ask me those questions. Maybe it was a person I met in a party or someone I met on a dating app. Maybe I did not even meet the caller in real life. Maybe it was someone who stalked me on social media, knew my name, and bulls**t their way into finding out my work schedule and contact information.<br><br>I gave up. I did not have any evidence and I could not do anything about it. I was going to forget about it eventually and move on with my life. But sometimes, my mind wanders.<br><br>Sometimes I am alone in my room and I wonder if I am truly alone. Maybe someone is spying on me as I write this. Maybe someone is following me as I walk around. I usually dismiss it as paranoia, but sometimes that feeling hits me like a ton of bricks. Sometimes I feel like I am being watched and I usually shake my head and forget about it. It’s paranoia. I know it. However, sometimes I wonder if maybe, just maybe, I am not being paranoid; if maybe, something like what happened to me may happen to you.<br><br>One day it may happen to you. One day you will receive a phone call from a stranger, and all they want to do is talk to you. One day you will have a conversation with a stranger, and that stranger will know you.