In a story that sounds like it was practically created in a lab for BuzzFeed, 23-year-old Arkansas woman Chastity Patterson texted the number of a deceased father figure, Jason Ligons, every day since his death in October 2015. After roughly four years of doing this her number had not only not been blocked, but she got a response from the person who has since assumed that number since Ligons' death.
The person on the other end also claimed to have endured his own personal tragedy. Not too shockingly, this tale has gone viral on Facebook with 290,000+ shares and over 20,000 comments so far.
Patterson's texts, of which you'll see a few examples in a moment, could be pretty lengthy and personal. The rationale behind the texts was that it was a coping mechanism. But phone numbers can change, and it turns out Patterson had sent messages to a guy named Brad who says his own daughter died in a 2014 car accident.
Again, these messages were personal, and included info about Patterson beating cancer, falling in love, falling out of love, graduating with honors, etc. Here's what she wrote about the fourth anniversary of Ligons' death that finally drew a response.
The recipient going by Brad broke the news that he was actually the person on the other end of the phone, but he did so in a gentle way (again, built for BuzzFeed). “Hi sweetheart, I am not your father, but I have been getting all your messages for the past 4 years,” he wrote. “I look forward to your morning messages and your nightly updates.”
He also stated that his daughter had passed in the aforementioned car wreck, stating “your messages have kept me alive.”
“I have wanted to text you back for years, but I didn’t want to break your heart,” he added. “You are an extraordinary woman and I wish my daughter would have become the woman you are.
“I’m sorry you have to go through this, but if it makes it any better, I am very proud of you!”
In response Patterson said that she's interpreting this development as a sign that “everything is OK” and that she can move on now. So if you're a Hallmark original script writer...well, this is as easy as it's ever gonna get.
