Ghost Phone

     The night was pitch black, the wind biting cold, and everything around me seemed like a phantom.

    My sister is timid, and we always have to see her off on her way home. I had just seen her onto the paved road when I used my phone to light my way back.

    The rural area of ​​northern Jiangsu in winter seemed desolate, and the icy night made the pain of impending doom even more acute. I didn't know if my mood had infected the world, or if the world had exacerbated my heartache.

    Suddenly, my phone rang, a familiar melody—was someone calling me from afar? I pressed the answer button hard, but it was no use. I pressed it again, still no answer. The call was disconnected. After getting home, I checked my call log—no missed calls? What was wrong with my phone? Was it automatically deceiving its owner?

    Was this a coincidence? Or was it inevitable?

    Back in the city, I remained alone in my dorm. My phone was always with me, never leaving my side. Had it gained my attention and become sentient?

    This morning, as usual, I woke up around 6 a.m. I checked my phone; no one had texted me while I was asleep. Still groggy, I waited for myself to fully wake up.

    My phone rang. I looked, and it wasn't receiving a call, but making an outgoing one. I pressed the stop button repeatedly, once, twice, three times... Finally, it stopped.

    I was tired. Annoyed.

    I picked up the phone, this high-tech auto-dialing phone, and examined it closely. "You little devil, trying to play tricks on me!" I watched it automatically dial numbers from my contacts.

    Turn it off. You little devil, you'll get what's coming to you.

    Am I too full of spiritual energy? Has the phone evolved?