I do want to suggest the possibility that this might not have been a hallucination, but a function of a hyperadrenalized nervous system, attuned specifically and exquisitely to noise.
...and maybe someone passing by outside (maybe they were walking closer to the house than normal due to inattention, talking on their phone, etc.)...
...and maybe this 'got' your ear's attention...
...and since your brain wants to help you feel safe, 'filled in' the missing 'where the heck did THAT come from?' with a rapid response answer for your system to 'hang' the noise on....and your sympathetic nervous system with the lightning fast highly attuned threat assessment filled in enough 'missing pieces' that it helped you by giving you the perception that 'this matches what that lady's mouth is saying so nothing to be fight or flight (actionable) going on, here...'
Which doesn't necessarily seem to provide comfort but would be a defensive adaptation showing how your amazing brain helped you survive such horrible $h1t all these years.
My point is, maybe there's a perfectly logical but unknowable explanation.
...and maybe accepting that your brain did that for a reason' and probably a well-intentioned one could be more helpful. Especially when we've been programmed to go instead to the 'OMG WTF I'm so [insert negative self-talk here] assumption that it's a negative.
Either way....I trust your responses, Heather. There's a reason. But putting your strength into finding that, instead of accepting 'the mystery' as being just another part that makes you, you, may not get you as far.
....and the 'you' you are right now is STILL WONDERFUL, my friend!
