(Tool: deepai.org | Promt: A black mother reaching for her daughter)
[P and M are seated at a café, sipping on their drinks]
P: What's the most heartbreaking thing you've heard all week?
M: All week?
P: Yeah, what is it?
M: Umm... When I met up with mum and when we were saying goodbye she said to me "when are you coming home?" And it broke my heart.
P: I'm sorry.
M: It's okay, I just didn't understand how much things have changed for us both until then. And how much time we've spent apart.
P: You didn't realize how much she misses you.
M: No, no I didn't.
P: Are you ashamed of yourself for it?
M: Yes, of course. Why am I responsible for making her long for my company? She's taken care of me for 23 years. She should never have to nearly beg to see me...
P: ...
M: You know what else hurts?
P: What else hurts?
M: She didn't give me a goodbye kiss. She held back because I got my wisdom teeth removed earlier in the week and she thought she may hurt me by kissing my cheek.
P: That's very thoughtful of her.
M: It's all my fault! If I never pulled away the first time she tried to kiss me after the surgery she wouldn't have been so cautious with me. And we would have said goodbye with a kiss, and that would be the last thing I'd remember about the last time I saw my mother.
P: Why do you think you never thought about it much the last time she asked when you'd go home?
M: I think it's because she's a good mother and she said it to me often when I was growing up. Whenever I wasn't home, for whatever reason, she'd ask, and at some point it just sort of turned into another sound she makes.
P: A familiar tune.
M: Right, exactly. I'd heard it all before. Not recognizing that each time she said it, it meant something different to her, defining a completely new moment for her.
P: And it's only after things changed for yourself that you were able to derive meaning from her question again.
M: I dunno, I guess I just felt bad that she ever had to ask me that. Like I was leaving her behind but I don't mean to. I can't leave her behind. How could I? She's my mother. But... Well...
P: She asked.
M: She asked. She wouldn't have had to ask if it wasn't true that she felt that way. An absence. Because of me.
Authors note:
Hi, my name shall remain a mystery till the end of time, and it's a pleasure to have you read my stuffs. I’m an artist investigating the potential of generative AI to improve writing and readability and in all my works I use a combination of my writing + Chat GBT #fortheplot.
The writing in Black is everything AI generated and the writing in orange is my own
Here's my original writing and the prompt I used for this story:
Prompt: Write a short story based on what I share below for that will sit as a blog post for my friend's website. Stick to the playscript format:
P: what's the most heartbreaking thing you've heard all week?
M: all week?
P: Yeah, what is it?
M: umm... When I met up with mum and when we were saying goodbye she said to me "when are you coming home?" And it broke my heart
P:I'm sorry.
M: it's okay, I just didn't understand how much things have changed for us both until then. And how much time we've spent apart.
P: you didn't realise how much she misses you.
Me: no, no I didn't.
P:are you ashamed of yourself for it
Me: yes of course. Why am I responsible for making her long for her company. She's taken care of me for 23 years. She should never have to nearly beg to see me...
P:...
M:you know what else hurts.
P: do tell
M: she didn't give me a goodbye kisses. She held back because I got my wisdom teeth removed earlier that week and she thought she may hurt me by kissing my cheek
P: that's very thoughtful of her
M: it's all my fault! If I never pulled away the first time she tried to kiss me after the surgery she wouldn't have been so cautious with me. And we would have said goodbye with a kiss and that would be the last thing I'd remember about the last time I saw my mother.
I left her in rhe pharmacy of the mall, buying meds for a headache or a toothache or high blood pressure. And I left her to go buy lunch for my friends. Then to go and rest and write and continue to live in their company. I left her on her own and we went out separate ways.
P:why do you think you never thought about it much the last time she asked when you'd go home
M: I think it's because she's a good mother and she said it to me often when I was growing up. Whenever I wasn't home, for whatever reason she'd ask and at some point it just sort of turned into another sound she makes
P:a familiar tune
M:right exactly. I'd heard it all before. Not recognising that each time she said it, it meant something different to her, defining a completely new moment for her
P: and it's only after things changed for yourself that you we're able to derive meaning from her question again
M:I dunno, I guess I just felt bad that she ever had to ask me that. Like I was leaving her behind but I don't mean to. I can't leave her behind. How could I? She's my mother. But... Well...
P: she asked.
M: she asked. She wouldn't have had to ask if it wasn't true that she felt that way. An absence. Because of me
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