short fiction · 2026-10-18

The Silent Phone

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

A phone lies face down on the wooden table, its screen dark and cool to the touch. No vibration, no light, no familiar chime to break the quiet. Around it, dust gathers in the faintest crescent where it has rested for days. The charger cable coils loosely beside it, unplugged, its end dangling like an unused question. In the kitchen, the kettle whistles once, then falls silent—no one comes to pour. The chair opposite remains pulled out, as if waiting for a hand that never lifts the receiver.