Mystery Revealed! ...well, partially.

Aug 4th - Thur: 6:20pm

My phone rings and it's Chloe. Silence and then a hang up. I call back and someone actually ANSWERS!!! A minute and 30 seconds go by with nothing on the other end and me saying whatever comes to my head. Then a hang up.

6:38pm

Phone rings--Chloe again. I had prepared some stuff to say to whoever was listening on the other end, but instead, it was Chloe in a really weak voice!!!! I was stunned beyond belief. I honestly thought I would never hear from her again. I could tell it was difficult for her to talk, and I had a difficult time understanding her. We spoke for almost 40 minutes. Here's what I was able to piece together.

She had an insulin overdose that did something serious to her after she left to see me on Saturday. She pulled over when she started feeling sick. I'm not sure what happened after that, but I do know she's recovering at a center in Pennsylvania. She was being treated at a hospital there.

Her brother is supposed to call me tonight to tell me what happened. I hope he does. I wanted to ask a zillion questions, but she could barely talk and I wanted her to rest. I'll call her again tomorrow.

I can't explain how much of a relief it is to at least know what happened. She assured me she's getting better, but I'll feel better myself if her brother tells me the same thing.

I realize this story sounds totally unbelievable, but why should I expect anything different. Relationships have never come easy for me, when they've come at all. I feel stupid for having published everything for the world to read, but at the time, I didn't think I would ever find out what happened.

I'll report back tomorrow on anything new.

Will It Ever End?!?!?!?!

Wed, Aug 3rd - 11:27 pm

My vibrating phone wakes me out of a deep sleep. I reach for it in the dark, squinting at the name on the display. WTF? It's Chloe! (Rene = Chloe by the way... I'm done using aliases) I answer, hello? Hello? Hello? Nothing. Twenty-seven seconds of nothing to be exact. Just dead air and me saying hello. Am I dreaming? No. I check the call history and sure enough, it shows Chloe under calls received.

I call back multiple times to no answer. Only the usual 5-6 rings and then voice mail. I force myself back to sleep.

11:37 pm

My phone vibrates once. I'm just barely drifting to sleep. I grab it and check the display. 1 missed call. It's Chloe again. There's no way I missed it, but somehow it didn't go through. It doesn't matter. I call back a few more times and then give up. Takes me much longer to fall back asleep.

Thur, Aug 3rd - 6:57 am

I just arrived at work and try calling her cell from my desk phone. "The PCS number you have dialed is temporarily not in service." Oh no. I knew it was coming, but I didn't think it would be this soon. If this is permanent, and not temporary, then what does it mean? Is it simply turned off? Did someone cancel her service, and why? Does this have anything to do with last nights calls? STOP FREAKING SCREWING WITH ME AND TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!!!!!

The Case of the Missing Girl

I have a mystery story for you today.

There was this guy named Corbin who started chatting with this cool girl named Rene one day. (names have been changed to protect the innocent) They had chatted years ago, but lost touch. Corbin had since deleted Rene's name from his friend list, but for some reason, Rene had not deleted Corbin's. So years later, Corbin received an IM asking who he was and why he was on her friend list.

After a week of enjoyable chat, things moved to the phone. Soon they were talking everyday, several times a day, sometimes for several hours. He was having to charge his cell phone battery multiple times a day. Corbin had never had so much in common with another girl before. It was great. The best part was that Rene would soon be moving from her home state to Corbin's to go to school.

After a month, both agreed it was time to meet in person. Rene made plans to fly out on a Friday. They would drive up to a nearby ski resort town and spend the weekend playing in the mountains. Both were very excited about it. Friday arrived, and despite a delay due to a lost cell phone, Rene called to say she was on her way over. She had stopped in at her cousin's place about 30 minutes away.

But Rene never showed up. Hours passed without hearing from Rene. Corbin became very worried, especially because he only had one way to contact her--her cell phone, which she wasn't answering. The fantastic weekend plans were quickly turning to dust. Making the decision to go to bed was tough. Corbin's bags were packed, he hadn't heard from Rene, and he had no idea if she was even ok.

Eventually he drifted off to a restless sleep. Around 2:00 am, his cell phone rang. It was her! He discovers she passed out in the garage as she was about to drive over. She had hit her head on a step and put a gash in her forehead. See, Rene has diabetes and she had been neglecting her insulin levels. Her father died the week before, and she hadn't been her usual self.

Her relatives called 911 and an ambulance took her to the hospital where she received six stitches. At 2:00am, she was back in bed at her cousin's house, and the drama looked like it might be coming to an end. She made Corbin promise to call her in the morning. He said he would and they went to sleep.

After a terrible night's rest, Corbin called Rene several times in the morning, and was just beginning to worry again when he finally reached her at 9:30. She assured him that she felt ok and that everything was fine. They would salvage the rest of the trip and laugh about all this later.

Around 11:30, Rene called to say she was on her way over--for the second time. An eerie feeling of deja vu crept over Corbin, but he brushed it aside. I mean, after all, how much bad stuff can happen to two people trying to start a relationship? Corbin set about preparing to meet Rene, again. Pulled a few things from his packed bags, now that the trip was shortened. Then he waited.

And waited. Then waited some more. Then the sick, stressful, worried feeling from before all came flooding back. He called Rene a dozen times--no answer. He killed time playing video games. Anything to get his mind off of Rene and what might have happened to her.

After awhile he started searching on the Internet and making phone calls--all to figure out what happened. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't find a number of anyone who knew Rene. He called every hospital in the area, yet none had any record of her. Not Saturday or on Friday. Again he went to bed not knowing where Rene was and if she was ok.

Sunday morning he spent following up several leads, checking with the police, and just wondering. Every path lead to a dead end. Still no answer on her cell phone. Sunday came and went without any new information. Monday arrived, the day she was supposed to fly back, and still no word from Rene.

Is Rene dead? In a coma? Does she exist? Is she trying to punish Corbin for some unknown, demented reason? Did she fly home? Does anyone in Rene's life know Corbin exists and how they can reach him? These are questions left unanswered. I hope one day there's a Chapter 2 to this story where the mystery is explained.