The Eclipse

The Eclipse

Didn’t they just broadcasting it on the radio? I heard every word, clear and loud, but can it truly be? Isn’t it supposed to happen tomorrow? Tomorrow, as the midday bell rings? Am I right? Again, I know nothing. Yasin’s right, I am a failure, an useless idiot. No better than Wulff. Indeed, he was the right president. No one has ever represented the Germans better. Oh dear, what am I thinking? No one has ever represented us more fittingly.

Should I weave the eclipse into a love poem? Would Yasin really appreciate it? Maybe he might embrace me again. His fragrance always entices me, drives me crazy. Oh, how I long to hold him now, to kiss him, to share his chewing gum from which he conjured those marvelous bubbles. Oh, how I want to bathe in his scent; how I want to feel his touch again.

I don’t wanna sit here any longer. I wanna go home! I wanna be with him, wanna experience the eclipse together with him, sipping cool bubble tea on our terrace. But what the fuck, this bastard boss of mine, may he go to hell. May this fucker go to hell! Of course, he had to stir things up once more. Why did he summon us to the office on such a day? What’s the point?

I haven’t done anything wrong. Honestly, it wasn’t my fault that this absurd horse-drawn carriage veered in front of my taxi. No, certainly not. The insurance will see it as me, absolutely. What on earth was a horse-drawn carriage doing on the Piccadilly Circus, anyway?

Just a few more minutes till the eclipse will begin. Will there ever be another one for Yasin and me to behold together? I doubt that. I have to leave now. To heck with this tyrant; let him terminate me or whatever. I don’t care. I am leaving now. Yes, I am just leaving. I have to get home quickly. I can manage it. Yes, I can manage it, unquestionably. Let him have his volcanic eruption tomorrow morning, who care? Not me. But not now, not today, and for sure not on such a day.

Finally. I’ve made it. He almost emerged from his office before I could slip out of the door. Now, quickly, where’s my car? I can still make it home in time. I can… I can… I can… Fuck, where are the keys? I didn’t… No, phew, here they are, exactly where they should be, in the pocket of my jacket.

Fast, into the car, starting the engine, and off I am. Am I driving too fast? No, still not fast enough. I need to accelerate more! There, the engine's coming. The moon is edging in front of the sun. Faster, I have to go faster, much faster… I’ll pretend it’s a marathon, and I am just inches away from the finish line; feeling the breath of the others on my neck.

Faster, just a little faster… What if I have an accident? Well, I have to get home to Yasin. I must be with my angel. I wanna savor his fragrance, feel his arms around me as we watch this eclipse together.

What the heck? Where does this bright light suddenly comes from?

Just one more kiss from him. Being in his arms, on the terrace, the…

What was that sound?

Why is the light so blinding?

The light…

***

I wrote this story for a German short story competition in 2011. It won the honorary award, that was created especially for it. It took me many attempts to translate this story into English, and all attempts failed. It never sounded the way it should be.

Today, I decided to ask ChatGPT to translate the story and even its version sucked. So I copied its translation in a new chat and asked to rewrite it. That version was slightly better, however, it still sucked at lot. But… this two versions together were the basic to simply rewrite it myself and now it sounds quite a lot like the German version.

I changed the place from Hamburg to London, and of course, I had to change the famous street name as well, so the Reeperbahn became the Picadilly Circus. And another change is the name and gender of the mentioned person.

I know, how many people think about using A.I., yet I learned, it can help me in accomplishing my goals more easily. At the end, ChatGPT is just another tool to make our lives easier and more efficient. And as a small side-effect, my English improves a lot, thanks to this one program.

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