A Tragedy in Three Acts

The phone rings seven times.  The woman stares at it.  She picks up the handset.  She puts it down.  The phone rings again.

The phone rings and rings.  The old man comes in from the left-hand side.  He shuffles in slippers.  The phone begins to creep away.  He will never catch it.  He is too slow.

The phone does not ring.  He has stopped at the last number.  The line clicks and goes dead.

The phone rings.  The house is a ruin.  Dust coats everything.  There is no handset.  There is no cord.  The phone rings anyway.  It cannot stop.