I wouldn’t have called my late father’s number if I had known what was waiting for me on the other end. But as they say, curiosity killed the cat.

A Little Backstory...My dad died in 2020, just before the COVID-19 wave hit the world. But his was not a pandemic-related death, it was a car accident. One moment, he was coming back from work; the next, he was gone. We buried him less than a week later, and that was it. Life moved on… well, at least for everyone else.

For us, his wife and four children, were left to figure out how to exist in a world that no longer had him in it. But apart from the usual grief and occasional cries in the bathroom, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

One fateful day, I was scrolling through Twitter when I saw a tweet that MTN recycles old numbers and gives them to new users. The replies were filled with people confirming this horror.

My curiosity woke up from its long nap and stretched dramatically.

Wait a minute, what about my dad’s number? Nobody had touched his SIM since he died, and it wasn’t linked to any bank account, so I figured it must have been reassigned by now.

So, naturally, I did what any reasonable person would do. I dialed the number.

And, not to my surprise, it rang.

I chuckled. "MTN, well done. Anyway, let me wait for the person to pick up so I can tell them it was a wrong number before they start hunting me down trying to figure out who called."

But then they picked up. And the voice that said, "Hello" was... familiar. Too familiar.

It was my father’s voice.

I ended the call so fast, I nearly flung my phone across the room.

At this point, my whole body was vibrating like an overused tiger generator. But I’m a rational person (or so I told myself), so I turned to Google for answers. That was when I stumbled upon something called auditory pareidolia, basically, when your brain tricks you into hearing familiar voices in random sounds. That made sense.

So, I called the number again to prove to myself that I was just "pareidolia-ing" (yes, I just made that a word).

I called the number again.

This time, it was unreachable.

I tried the next day. Unreachable.

I tried for weeks. Still unreachable.

I even took things further, checked WhatsApp, Truecaller, every caller ID app I could find. Nothing. It was as if the number didn’t exist.

I didn’t tell anyone, because let’s be real, imagine explaining to your family that you think Dad’s ghost might have answered a phone call. I have been called weird enough, I don't want to add to it.

But then, around two months later, the knocking started.

At first, it was small. A knock here, a knock there. We assumed it was one of the neighborhood kids playing a prank (Even though that explanation makes no sense, as our neighbor doesn't have kids, and our house is fenced).

But soon, the knocks became frequent.

Morning. Afternoon. Evening. midnight.

It got to a point where nobody in the house could sleep properly.

The worst part is that whenever we opened the door, we saw nothing. No sound of footsteps running away, no neighbor pretending they weren’t involved. Just silence.

It became so frequent we had to call for intervention. CCTV cameras were installed. Nothing. We called in the uncles, the cousins, even the nosy neighbors, everybody investigated, nobody found anything.

It was when the knocks started happening inside the house that we knew it was time to carry our bags and go.

We called in spiritual reinforcements. The prayer warriors came with their holy water, anointing oil, and enough incense to suffocate a mosquito. They sprinkled, they prayed, they chanted, they burned things.

Finally, they said, “It is done. You can move back in.”

And because it was our only house, we had no choice but to believe them.

Thankfully, the knocking stopped.

But my curiosity didn't stop.

I didn’t think too much about any connection between a random phone call and the mysterious knocking on our door. After all, strange things happen every day.

So, I kept trying the number.

One fateful evening, the line rang again.

I had my script ready. The moment they picked, I would say, “Please, is this Mr. Felix?” (my dad’s name). If they said no, I’d apologize and move on. If they said yes…well, God abeg.

The person picked up. And before I could speak, I heard:

"Stop calling this number."

Not in English. Not in a strange voice. In my father’s exact tone and our local language.

Ah. Who sent me message?

I tried calling back immediately. Unreachable.

At this point, my brain was screaming “Let it go!”, but curiosity had already replaced my common sense.

That night, at around 2:12 AM, we heard sweeping in the compound.

First of all, who sweeps at that hour?

I turned to my mother. She turned to me. The unspoken agreement was clear: We must confirm what is going on.

We stepped outside. Nothing.

No person. No broom. No sound of footsteps. But the sweeping was loud and clear.

For months, this unseen housekeeper continued. Sweeping the compound. Sweeping the passage inside the house. And yet, somehow, the place never got cleaner, everything was the same except the sound of sweeping.

At this point, enough was enough.

We reached for the leftover incense from the first time. If it worked before, it must work again.

Despite all the warnings from the universe, I still wanted to know who was behind the voice.

So I still kept trying to reach the person, and finally, on November 21, 2024, the line rang again.

I opened my mouth to speak, but my tongue refused to move.

I tried again. Nothing.

The only thing I heard from the other end was “Bye.” In my dad’s voice.

The call ended.

From that day till now, my tongue has remained twisted. I have not been able to speak a single word.

I wrote everything down for my mother. We went to the MTN office, provided every document they asked for, hoping to track the person who answered the calls.

Their response was cold: “There has been no activity on this line since 2020.”

We have seen every doctor possible. Nothing. Nobody can explain why I cannot speak.

Our last hope is an appointment with a top doctor in India this August. Until then, all I can do is wait.

And most importantly, maybe never, ever call a dead man’s number again.

Man these shrooms really blew your imaginations 😌💨 . Don't try LSD anymore nigha

Too strange to believe,too strange not to believe

I have read 2ru your threads and realized you deserve "orange price for fiction"

See the link to one of you fictitious thread below.

https://www.nairaland.com/8374826/explain-whats-going-brother#134627903

The year your father died vs now tells a lot.

This guy and fake stories eeehhh,before you said you brother disappeared and I call for that lamba

Fiction or not non fiction?

Makamatic:
Man these shrooms really blew your imaginations 😌💨 . Don't try LSD anymore nigha

You mean he needs to lay off the shrooms?
That must be enough LSD to keep an entire community awake

This is strange...but stranger things have happened.

Fiction..
Drink two spoonful of anointing oil and you'll talk again.

You again

All different networks here in SA also recycle their numbers... If you've not used your Sim card for more than 6 months, they'd give the number to someone else and shut down your Sim card for good... It has happened to me before.

Despicable me....
And I just read the whole epistle with goosebumps on my anus



Hian!

Fiction or Not!…You’re a good writer!

Makamatic:
Man these shrooms really blew your imaginations 😌💨 . Don't try LSD anymore nigha

😂😂😂

Makamatic:
Man these shrooms really blew your imaginations 😌💨 . Don't try LSD anymore nigha

.could be some hard ass blunt though .. I 'm guessing colos ..

Your fiction is becoming stale. Weird stories always

Samantha125:
All different networks here in SA also recycle their numbers... If you've not used your Sim card for more than 6 months, they'd give the number to someone else and shut down your Sim card for good... It has happened to me before.

Is your story complete??



Cant you relate to the other parts of his story too😏😏

id4sho:
Your fiction is becoming stale. Weird stories always

No vex. I go unstale am.

Timytetobbs:
Fiction or Not!…You’re a good writer!

Thanks!!!

Foodqueen:
You again

I'm going through a lot.

This is really cool for Nollywood. Bro Try protect your script

Paulscholari:
This is really cool for Nollywood. Bro Try protect your script

I don send am give Odunlade.

Jacktheripper:



I'm going through a lot.

Ogbadun.

Have you gone to pick your brother from the police station.

Jacktheripper:



I don send am give Odunlade.

Nice one brother

id4sho:
Your fiction is becoming stale. Weird stories always

But they are perfect for short paranormal series…
Something African producers n movie makers ain’t even keying into.

Twitter Story

Check OP's history. He posts fiction stuff. This absolutely didn't happen.

Shellsploit:
Despicable me....
And I just read the whole epistle with goosebumps on my anus



Hian!

Nairalanders will not kill me.
Bia goosebumps where?
🙆🙆🙆🙆🙆

Good story op.
A good producer would do something with this.

Fiction?

Please give me his number