Sólo vine a hablar por teléfono; is the fifth story in the compendium of twelve short stories written by Gabriel García Márquez over the course of eighteen years, which make up the book called Doce cuentos peregrinos (Twelve Pilgrim Stories).

The story Solo vino a Hablar por teléfono is about a young woman named María de Cervantes, 27 years old, when on a rainy afternoon on her way to Barcelona her car broke down in the middle of the desert. After a few hours of being alone, a bus driver decided to help her by warning her that she was not going very far; Maria only replied that what she needed was a telephone, to warn her husband that she would not make it to her appointments. Maria was in a daze and forgot to take her car keys with her.

As she got on the bus she noticed that it was full of women of different ages with different conditions and that most of them were sleeping. She curled up on the seat and fell asleep as did the others. When she woke up it was night and she had no idea where she was or how much time had passed. Maria just asked if there was a phone to talk to her husband. She explained to a woman what had happened to her but no one believed her and she was locked in a bedroom. ^[1]

Maria had realized why those women on the bus were sedated; she was in a hospital for the mentally ill. When she realized this she tried to escape but one of the guards noticed and restrained her with a key. Her wailing and protests were to no avail as the next day she was registered as mentally ill. Her husband began to worry about her tardiness and asked her family in Zaragoza.

There he was told that she had left the day before.

Her husband's concern had other motives than to think of a possible accident, since on other occasions Maria had left him and gone off with other men. Her husband was a magician and during the last two years, she had shared his magic performances. He thought she had abandoned him again and decided to forget about Maria forever. On one occasion, by chance, Maria got access to a telephone and called home.

Her husband, when she picked up the phone, did not hear her and, after insulting her, hung up on her. She had to agree to certain propositions from a guard to get her to send a message to her husband. The guard accepted as long as the deal was kept secret.

Saturn the Magician arrived at the hospital. The director received him in his office and gave him a report on his wife's condition. No one knew how Maria had gotten there but the intrigued director wanted to know how Saturn had learned of his wife's whereabouts.

The latter protected the guardian by saying that he had been told by the car insurance company. The director clarified that his wife is very ill, that her mental health is quite delicate. He therefore recommends not to take her out of the place.

So, for a while, the Magician Saturn visits Maria de la Luz, but he realizes that she has indeed gone mad, and that she will not recover. Therefore, over the years, he ends up forgetting her by marrying her and returning to his country.