​I Answered a Spam Call Just to Hear a Real Person Say My Name

Dear Delyara, I did something incredibly desperate at 4:10 AM tonight. My phone rang, and the screen flagged it up as a suspected telemarketing scam from an automated call center. Instead of rejecting it like I always do, I swiped open and put it to my ear. It was a recorded voice at first, but then it transferred to a real person working a night shift in another country, reading from a script. When they asked, "Am I speaking with Ali Seifi?" my voice actually caught in my throat. I stayed on the line for six minutes, politely asking questions about a life insurance policy I don't need, just to hear the cadence of another human being speaking directly to me across the void. When they finally hung up, the return of the absolute silence in this cabin felt like a heavy weight dropping on my chest.