It was just after midnight when Amir, a taxi driver with twenty years of experience, pulled his cab to the side of the road. The city was quiet, the streets dimly lit, when he spotted a woman standing alone near a bus stop. She wore a long coat, her hair falling loosely over her shoulders, and she lifted her hand to hail him.
Amir slowed down, unlocking the doors. She stepped in silently, offering only a faint smile. Her voice, when she finally spoke, was soft but clear: “Please, take me home.” She handed him an address scribbled on a slip of paper.
As the taxi rolled through the empty streets, Amir glanced in the mirror. She sat perfectly still, her gaze fixed outside the window. Something about her seemed strange — not threatening, but distant, as if she weren’t fully there. Still, Amir focused on the road, eager to finish his shift.
They drove for nearly twenty minutes until they reached the outskirts of the city. The houses grew older, the streets quieter. Finally, the taxi pulled up to a small gate in front of an old house. Amir turned off the meter and spoke: “We’re here.”
Silence.
He turned again, this time fully — and his heart nearly stopped.
The back seat was empty.
The woman was gone.
Amir’s breath caught in his throat. The door hadn’t opened, the locks hadn’t clicked, and yet there was no trace of her. Only the faint smell of perfume lingered in the air. His hands shook as he stepped out, circling the car. Nothing.
Confused and shaken, he walked up to the house. An elderly man answered the door. Amir stammered, describing the woman who had just ridden with him. The old man’s face paled. After a long pause, he whispered:
“That’s my daughter… but she died ten years ago.”
Amir staggered back, the night spinning around him. The street seemed darker now, the silence heavier. He hurried back to his taxi, his pulse pounding, and drove off into the night.
And though he has driven countless passengers since that night, he swears he will never forget the woman who entered his cab at midnight — and vanished before reaching her home.
