–Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad
My phone broke a few weeks ago. It was an iPhone 4. I had it for a long time and it was already getting slow and causing problems, so when the screen went black and refused to turn on it wasn’t a surprise.
I ordered a new phone online and it took a few days to get here. In the meantime I still kept my broken iPhone around. Kind of out of habit and kind of because I hoped maybe, miraculously, it would turn back on. One day, before my new phone arrived, my broken phone rang and I held it in my hand not being able to answer or even to see who was calling.
When my new phone arrived I excitedly transferred the contacts that I was able to save and uploaded the essential apps. When I finally logged into Instagram I found dozens of unread DMs. Some were from as far back as July. I had never seen them before.
It was amazing that they were there. And amazing that my life had gone on as normal without them. And I still don’t know who called on that day when my phone screen stayed black (it was probably something spammy). But I like to think that it is still possible to get lost out there.
Anne Foster 