The Call of Destiny

Author：Liu Xiao Qian

Bad weather delayed my flight, and I landed at 3:00 a.m. on July 14, 2018.

As soon as I switched on my phone, it rang. It was Owen Shepard, my senior colleague. He sounded urgent. “Get to the hospital, now!” he said.

I asked him what was going on.

“It’s Mia Jenner,” he said. “She had an accident.”

I felt a surge of panic and pain.

That day marked three years since Mia, and I started dating. I had planned to propose to her at midnight if only the plane had arrived on time.

I reached the hospital at 4:30 a.m. and saw her lying on a bed.

A sheet draped over her lifeless body. Her skin had lost color, and her hand felt rigid and cold.

It didn’t resemble Mia’s hand at all.

But the autopsy report stated that she had died in a car crash at 6:10 p.m. at the intersection of Morton Street and Harvard Street.

Owen told me what happened. "It was a truck. The driver was too tired to slow down, and he just… "

He clutched my hand as I reached for the sheet covering Mia’s face.

“Don’t,” he said. “Leo, you shouldn’t… see this.”

I felt a lump in my throat.

“Let me go.”

.

I shook off his grip and lifted the sheet slowly.

She looked peaceful, with her soft brows and eyes, like she always did when she was reluctant to wake up.

But a gash on her neck ran down her body, tearing her apart.

.

.

I collapsed on the floor, feeling like I had been stabbed.

My eyes burned, but no tears came. My mouth was silent.

“You owe me for forgetting our anniversary. Make it up to me tomorrow.”

It was a hallucination, I realized.

Because that was the last message Mia sent me.

Our story ended on such a trivial note…

I felt a tightness in my throat and threw up bile.

01

I yelled. “Drowsy driving? Fuck your drowsy driving!”

I was furious at the police station and ready to wreak havoc. Only Owen's firm grip prevented me from smashing everything in sight.

“Hello, Leo. My name is Officer James Dubois. I understand this is a difficult time for you, but I need you to…”

“You have no clue what I’m going through! I need to see the killer, now!”

“No, that’s not an option.”

“This is a murder case. You guys are clueless!”

“Leo, nothing shows that he intended to kill anyone. It was just a case of driving while tired.”

“You son of a bitch…”

“Excuse me?”

"I called you a son of a bitch!" I pulled free from Owen and glared at the officer’s nose. “You’re part of this! You’re lying through your teeth! You damned liar!”

Without warning, the officer lunged at me and seized my arm, throwing me to the ground and crushing my neck with his knee.

He sneered. “What was that?”

"You son of a bitch!"

As he said those words, I heard a sickening crunch and felt the air leave my lungs.

He snapped handcuffs on my wrists and pulled them behind my back.

"You’ve insulted a police officer, so I will detain you by law."

He didn’t let go of me.

His full force was still on my neck until I lost consciousness.

I knew I shouldn’t have done something so reckless, at least not at this critical moment.

However, I saw distinctly that when he spoke the words “driving while tired,” he had a sneering laugh.

.

The more I thought about it, the more I doubted his integrity and the whole situation.

.

02

Even after I was arrested, I kept looking for clues and asking for justice.

But it was weird that all the evidence from that year had vanished.

The security camera at the crash site was broken, and the truck that hit Mia was wrecked beyond repair. Four years passed, and I still didn’t know the name of the driver who caused it.

One night, over drinks, Owen urged me to drop the case. “You’ve been at it for four years, and you’ve aged like hell. Do you really think you can find the truth?” he asked.

“But I know something’s off. Mia was killed,” I insisted.

“So what? Do you have any clue who did it?”

“Are you telling me to just quit?” I shouted, slamming the table. “Just forget about it?”

.

I went back home feeling infuriated and hopeless.

Everything was just as it was when Mia was alive. I wanted to break down and cry, but I knew no one could comfort me.

Then I heard a phone ringing in the corner.

It wasn’t mine, but I recognized the ringtone.

I ignored it at first, but it kept ringing.

Annoyed, I got up and looked for it.

I found an old iPhone 7 in a box under my bed.

How long had it been there? Three years? And it still had battery?

I picked up the phone and saw the caller ID. It was…

Mia.

03

“Hello?” I said.

"Huh? Why don't you call me darling?"

I was dumbfounded.

It was Mia’s voice, and calling her darling was our thing.

"Hello? Darling, why are you so quiet?" she pressed.

“Who…who is this?” I asked.

“Ha ha, you’re so funny! It’s your favorite person here!” she said.

I could always tell by her cheeky voice!

“Leo, can you cover for me later?” she went on, ignoring my question. “Hold on. I have another call.”

The phone beeped, and the line went dead.

I looked at the phone again.

It had 2% battery left, no SIM card, and no signal.

.

.

.

The only recent call was from Mia.

I tried calling back, but without a SIM card, the phone was useless.

When I tried calling Mia’s number from my own phone, no one picked up, just like the last four years. Her phone card had been stored away with her other things.

Suddenly, the phone rang again.

“Hello?” I said, connecting the charger.

.

“Leo, have you landed?”

“Landed?”

“Yeah, it’s your flight back from New York. Isn’t the flight delayed?”

"Mia, where are you..."

"I’m at a party hosted by Detrick, that global healthcare company. "

04

My girlfriend Mia is a renowned journalist working at STAT.

On July 14, 2018, she was covering a press conference for Detrick, where Owen worked.

She also got invited to the after-party.

I was on a flight back to Boston with my team after a seminar in New York.

She left the party at 6:40 p.m. and got into a car crash soon after.

I couldn't forget those details.

“Mia, what’s the date over there…I mean, what’s the date today?”

I asked her the most crucial question on the phone.

“Ha ha…it’s our anniversary today. How could you forget!”

“How long have we been in love?”

“For three years, obviously.”

“So, it’s 2018?”

“What’s up with you? Did you have a drink on the plane?”

“Mia, I’m in… 2022.”

05

I trembled as I heard the date she was in.

I wanted to blurt out how much I missed her, how these past four years were hell.

But I bit my tongue.

Because July 14, 2018, was the day she died.

And maybe, just maybe, this phone call across time could save her.

I was still reeling when Mia spoke again, but her voice had changed.

"I’m glad you’re safe and sound. I miss you too, but Owen's keeping me company! "

She shouted the last part. It was clear that she was talking to someone else.

I realized what she meant by “cover for me” before.

Owen wouldn’t let her go?

Was he there with her?

“Let me talk to Owen,” I said, sensing what might be going on.

There was a pause on the line, and I heard Owen’s voice.

“Hey, Leo, did the flight make it on time despite the thunderstorm?”

“Yeah, can you let Mia leave? It’s our anniversary, and I want to surprise her with a nice dinner.”

Owen hesitated.

“Leo, you sound tired…”

Then, Mia grabbed the phone from him.

“Okay, thanks, darling. I’ll call you later.”

“Don’t hang up yet, don’t go…”

"I have something urgent to do. Take care."

“Morton Street! Stay away from the intersection of Morton Street and Harvard Street. You’ll crash!”

I shouted, but she had already hung up.

I was sure she didn’t hear my last words.

I regretted not telling her sooner. And she seemed to be in a hurry, so I didn’t know if she would heed my warning.

For the next ten minutes, I couldn’t reach Mia.

Those ten minutes were torturous.

It was a dark and stormy night. Rain poured down in torrents, and lightning lit up the cloudy sky.

I kept glancing at the clock.

6:29 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

6:31 p.m.

If time were in sync with this place, Mia would soon die because of…

Hold on!

I glanced at a piece of paper on the table.

It was Mia’s autopsy report, lying next to her iPhone 7. I grabbed them both and skimmed through the report.

A flash of lightning lit up the whole room.

I saw the words on the autopsy report changing before my eyes.

.

Instead of “died in a car accident,” the report read, “fatally wounded in a robbery at 7:10 p.m.”

.

The cause of Mia's death had changed.

Thunder boomed and rumbled in the sky.