Have you Checked the Children?

The Singhs’ two kids Arya and Saanjh have been asleep for hours and I’m trying to stay awake by watching late-night TV until their parents come home. When the phone rings from the kitchen I jump out of my skin, suddenly wide awake. Who would be calling this late?

I pick up the call, worried sick.

“Have you checked the children?” a man’s deep, monotone voice asks down the line.

“Who is this?” I ask, terrified.

It didn’t sound like Mr Singh . . . but who else would want to know?

The man ended the call and I immediately lock all the doors, mute the TV and listen carefully, but the house is silent; the children sleeping soundly. I sit nervously on the couch, my heart hammering.

The phone rings again, and although I don’t want to answer it, I do.

“Have you checked the children?” the deep voice says again.

I stab the end call button and immediately call the police.

They say they’ll put a trace on the next call to find out where it’s coming from.

“Keep him on the line for as long as you can,” the policewoman says.

I stand at the bottom of the staircase, staring up toward the children’s bedroom, frozen to the spot, not sure what I should do.

The phone rings again and my whole body jumps. My hand
trembles as I answer the call.

“I told you to check the children,” the man says, “and you haven’t.”

“How . . . how do you know?” I ask, hardly able to speak.

I hear a muffled laugh from the other end.

I end the call, my heart in my throat, and within seconds the police call me back.

“The call is coming from inside the house! Get out now!”

I drop the phone and race up the stairs to the kids’ room, dreading what I might find. Heavy footsteps follow me up the stairs . . .