"Lost in Translation: A Terrifying Transformation"
0 Points
0
Seven-year-old Ben clutched his mother’s hand as they navigated the barren aisles of the grocery store. His wide, blue eyes peered over the top of his face mask, taking in the eerie emptiness that had haunted their shopping trips since the outbreak began. He shuffled in his tiny, worn sneakers, his blonde hair neatly parted to the side.
Ben was wearing a little red t-shirt with a cartoon dinosaur and khaki shorts, his white socks pulling up to his knees, looking somewhat comical next to his oversized sneakers. His mom, Emily, was a 35-year-old woman who stood at 5'8" and weighed around 145 pounds. Emily had long, wavy brown hair that she often kept in a ponytail to keep it out of her bright green eyes. Today, her hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders in waves that framed her face. Born on April 12, 1985, her birth year seemed a lifetime ago in this new world. She wore black running shoes, her size 7 feet slipping in them since she hadn't found anything in her size since the pandemic worsened.
“Mommy, your feets are so tiny for a growed-up,” Ben said innocently, his voice muffled by the mask. “Are mine gonna be that teensy when I grow up?”
Emily laughed softly, a sound that was both comforting and laden with exhaustion. “No, Ben. Since you're a boy and not a girl, your feet will grow very big. Maybe you’ll wear size 10 or 11 shoes when you’re older.”
Ben nodded, though he didn't fully understand the complexities of growing up in a world marked by a constant threat. He obediently followed his mother as they wearily grabbed food and supplies, putting them into their rickety cart.
Without warning, zombies began pouring into the grocery store, their groans echoing through the cavernous space. Emily’s eyes widened in terror, and she grabbed Ben’s hand tighter. "Run, Ben!" she yelled, pulling him behind her as they darted toward the exit.
Amid the chaos, five Korean women appeared, their presence a stark contrast to the macabre scene around them. They were dressed impeccably; their blouses were delicate and floral-patterned, tucked into knee-length skirts that ranged in colors from pastel pinks to deep blues. Each woman wore platform sandals or platform shoes, their heights elevated by several inches. The sandals boasted intricate designs and straps that held firm around their feet, polished nails in hues of reds and pinks peeking through.
The oldest woman, Yoon-ji, was in her late 60s, at least a decade older than the other four. She was 5’4” with short, silver-streaked black hair, and her eyes were a gentle, knowing brown. Her birth year was 1953, making her 67 years old, and her petite frame carried an aura of authority. She wore size 5 shoes, significantly smaller than Emily’s. Her friends, Hana, Jae, Mi-ran, and Soo, ranged in their early fifties, all sharing similarly short, stylish haircuts that framed their faces.
As Ben and Emily ran, one of the women, Mi-ran, noticed the boy. She reached out to grab him, speaking quickly in Korean, her eyes wide with concern. Ben tried to duck under her grasp, but she held firm, and the dizzying motion made his vision go black.
When Ben opened his eyes, the world felt different. He looked down, realizing he was now considerably taller than he used to be. Where there had once been khaki shorts, there was now a knee-length skirt. His little sneakers had been replaced with open-toed platform sandals, showing polished red nails. Ben gasped, his hands now small and delicate, tracing the outlines of almond-shaped eyes on his new face.
“I… I want to go home. I want Mommy,” he cried, but his voice came out in broken English, heavy with an accent and riddled with errors. “I… I won’ to go hooome. I wan’ Mahmee.”
Stumbling over the platform sandals, he tried to run, the unfamiliar clothing uncomfortable and restrictive. He tripped over an unseen object, landing hard and hearing his voice, now distinctly female, emit a groan. He squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to flow.
Ben desperately played with his short, feminine hair, his polished nails catching the dim lights of the grocery store. Frustrated, he attempted to remove the blouse and skirt but found buttons and zippers unyielding. He pulled at the platform sandals in every which way, discovering that they fit snugly but wouldn't budge.
As he examined his new female feet, smaller than Emily’s, dread filled him. “I’m gonna have girl feet an' talk like dis funny lady foreva,” he whimpered, the smooth skin and smaller proportions unfamiliar and terrifying. “I’m gonna hav’ girl feets an’ talk like dis.”
He tugged at the first piece of jewelry – a delicate silver bracelet – but it seemed intricately fastened and too tight to slip off. He tried the necklace next, its latch stubborn and difficult to unclip. Earrings, rings, and a brooch followed, each as obstinate as the last, and his frustration grew.
“I’m scared,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone, “I’m… I’s’ scared.”
Before he could fully gather his thoughts, the four other Korean women found him. They grabbed his hands, guiding him somewhere with firm yet gentle pressure. “Eun-ji, you cannot wander off like this!” Hana scolded in broken English, tightening the blouse.
“Eun-ji, you too old for dis,” Soo added, her voice mixing chiding tones with a soft warning. “Jigeum geumanhae.”
Ben, now trapped in Eun-ji's body, couldn’t understand a word. The language was foreign, adding another layer of fear to his situation. The women dragged him toward the parking lot, where emptiness gave way to lurking zombies.
Terrified beyond words, Ben looked around desperately for a way out. As the women led him through the maze of undead, he could only think of one thing: his mother, now lost in the chaos.
This story was generated by user manemansteve with assistance by one of OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model; prompts used to help generate the story are shown below.
Images were generated with OpenAI's AI system, DALL·E 2, or uploaded by the user.
AI Prompts
Prompt: A long and thorough and detailed story taking place in the year 2020 starring 7 year old Ben with a description of what he's wearing and his race being white and have him be shopping with his mom in the middle of a zombie pandemic. Include his mom's name, age, height, weight, birthday, birth year, hair color and style and eye color, and her shoe size mentioned. Have Ben make a comment about his mom's feet being small for a grown up and have it be in quoted text asking if his feet were gonna be that tiny when he grew up in an innocent voice and spell words wrong showing what he wanted to say versus what he said in his little kid voice. Have his mom laugh and say no and have it be in quoted text saying since he's a boy and not a girl his feet should grow very big and have her guess what size his feet will be when he's older. Have them be wearily grabbing food and supplies putting it in the cart when zombies started pouring in to the grocery store. Have his mom start running with him following close behind. Have 5 Korean women appear wearing blouses and skirts with detailed descriptions of the blouses and skirts and have all be wearing platform sandals and platform shoes with detailed descriptions of the platform sandals and platform shoes and have all of them have painted nails and include the colors. Include all 5 Korean women's names, ages all being older than his mom, heights all being shorter than his mom, weights, birthdays, birth years all being older than his mom with one of the 5 women being much older than the other 4 women, hair colors and styles all being short Korean styles and where they were from in the US or if they were from South Korea and their shoe sizes. Have one of the women notice the boy saying something to him in Korean and reaching out to grab him and have him try to avoid her still being grabbed by the woman getting dizzy and have his vision go black. Reveal which woman grabbed him and include her information a second time including her name, age, birthday, birth year, height, weight, hair color and style and eye color and where she was from and her shoe size being much smaller than his moms. Have all of the women be salon stylists and include more information about them and why they were at the store. Have him open his eyes realizing he's taller and feels different with his the blouse and knee length skirt he was now wearing and his different skin tone and the platform sandals and his polished nails and have him look for his mommy worriedly realizing she's now gone. Have him yell for mommy and have it be in quoted text unwillingly in broken English spelling words wrong and show the quote the way he wanted to say it versus how he said it. Have him try to run stumbling over the platform sandals he was now wearing and have the woman's outfit be very uncomfortable and have him trip over something hearing his female voice and have him gag at how girly it all was and have him squeeze his eyes shut. Have him do everything to pace himself trying to run away from the zombies and and have the platform sandals be hard to run in and have him consistently trip over the platform sandals eventually getting far enough away from the zombies. Have him innocently study his new reflection tracing his almond shaped eyes with his new hands and have him try to change his eyes back to the normal wide eyes noticing they look nothing like his mother's but give up on trying being specific as to what he did. Have him say i want to go home i want mommy and have it be in quoted text unwillingly speaking in broken English and saying some words wrong and show the quoted text the way he said versus how he wanted to say it. Have him start crying at the sound of his voice. Have him play with his short female hair and what he did with it noticing his polished nails on his female hands as he played with it but being unable to change it back to his boyish hair. Have him try to remove the blouse and skirt in different ways being unsuccessful and including each of the ways in the story with a detailed description. Have him try to remove the platform sandals being unable to trying in 5 different ways and including each of the 5 ways in the story but the platform sandals aren't glued to her feet they just won't come off. Have him notice his female feet actually look smaller than his mom's feet and have him say something and have it be in quoted text in very broken English about how he's gonna have girl feet and talk like the funny lady he now is for the rest of his life and show the quote he wanted to say versus how he said it in very broken English. Have him try to remove the first piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the second piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the third piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the fourth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the fifth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the sixth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to say I'm scared and have it be in quoted text unwillingly speaking in broken English spelling words wrong and show the quote the way he said versus how he wanted to say it and have him squeeze his eyes shut in fear. Have the woman's 4 other friends find her and grab her by the hands guiding her somewhere. Have one of the other woman criticize her for wandering off and have it be in quoted text in broken English calling the boy by their friend's name who he was in the body of and spell the words wrong in the quoted text and have them tighten parts of her outfit and platform sandals. Have another one of the other women criticize her reminding her her age and have it be in quoted text in broken English calling the boy by their friend's name who he was in the body of spelling certain words wrong and have her end her quote with a Korean saying. Have the boy in the woman's body hear the Korean woman speaking to him thinking he's her friend unable to understand it at all. Have him struggle to run out in the platform sandals as the women drag him and have him make it out to the parking lot and have the parking lot be empty but full of zombies. Have him be terrified.
Response: Seven-year-old Ben clutched his mother’s hand as they navigated the barren aisles of the grocery store. His wide, blue eyes peered over the top of his face mask, taking in the eerie emptiness that had haunted their shopping trips since the outbreak began. He shuffled in his tiny, worn sneakers, his blonde hair neatly parted to the side. Ben was wearing a little red t-shirt with a cartoon dinosaur and khaki shorts, his white socks pulling up to his knees, looking somewhat comical next to his oversized sneakers. His mom, Emily, was a 35-year-old woman who stood at 5'8" and weighed around 145 pounds. Emily had long, wavy brown hair that she often kept in a ponytail to keep it out of her bright green eyes. Today, her hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders in waves that framed her face. Born on April 12, 1985, her birth year seemed a lifetime ago in this new world. She wore black running shoes, her size 7 feet slipping in them since she hadn't found anything in her size since the pandemic worsened. “Mommy, your feets are so tiny for a growed-up,” Ben said innocently, his voice muffled by the mask. “Are mine gonna be that teensy when I grow up?” Emily laughed softly, a sound that was both comforting and laden with exhaustion. “No, Ben. Since you're a boy and not a girl, your feet will grow very big. Maybe you’ll wear size 10 or 11 shoes when you’re older.” Ben nodded, though he didn't fully understand the complexities of growing up in a world marked by a constant threat. He obediently followed his mother as they wearily grabbed food and supplies, putting them into their rickety cart. Without warning, zombies began pouring into the grocery store, their groans echoing through the cavernous space. Emily’s eyes widened in terror, and she grabbed Ben’s hand tighter. "Run, Ben!" she yelled, pulling him behind her as they darted toward the exit. Amid the chaos, five Korean women appeared, their presence a stark contrast to the macabre scene around them. They were dressed impeccably; their blouses were delicate and floral-patterned, tucked into knee-length skirts that ranged in colors from pastel pinks to deep blues. Each woman wore platform sandals or platform shoes, their heights elevated by several inches. The sandals boasted intricate designs and straps that held firm around their feet, polished nails in hues of reds and pinks peeking through. The oldest woman, Yoon-ji, was in her late 60s, at least a decade older than the other four. She was 5’4” with short, silver-streaked black hair, and her eyes were a gentle, knowing brown. Her birth year was 1953, making her 67 years old, and her petite frame carried an aura of authority. She wore size 5 shoes, significantly smaller than Emily’s. Her friends, Hana, Jae, Mi-ran, and Soo, ranged in their early fifties, all sharing similarly short, stylish haircuts that framed their faces. As Ben and Emily ran, one of the women, Mi-ran, noticed the boy. She reached out to grab him, speaking quickly in Korean, her eyes wide with concern. Ben tried to duck under her grasp, but she held firm, and the dizzying motion made his vision go black. When Ben opened his eyes, the world felt different. He looked down, realizing he was now considerably taller than he used to be. Where there had once been khaki shorts, there was now a knee-length skirt. His little sneakers had been replaced with open-toed platform sandals, showing polished red nails. Ben gasped, his hands now small and delicate, tracing the outlines of almond-shaped eyes on his new face. “I… I want to go home. I want Mommy,” he cried, but his voice came out in broken English, heavy with an accent and riddled with errors. “I… I won’ to go hooome. I wan’ Mahmee.” Stumbling over the platform sandals, he tried to run, the unfamiliar clothing uncomfortable and restrictive. He tripped over an unseen object, landing hard and hearing his voice, now distinctly female, emit a groan. He squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to flow. Ben desperately played with his short, feminine hair, his polished nails catching the dim lights of the grocery store. Frustrated, he attempted to remove the blouse and skirt but found buttons and zippers unyielding. He pulled at the platform sandals in every which way, discovering that they fit snugly but wouldn't budge. As he examined his new female feet, smaller than Emily’s, dread filled him. “I’m gonna have girl feet an' talk like dis funny lady foreva,” he whimpered, the smooth skin and smaller proportions unfamiliar and terrifying. “I’m gonna hav’ girl feets an’ talk like dis.” He tugged at the first piece of jewelry – a delicate silver bracelet – but it seemed intricately fastened and too tight to slip off. He tried the necklace next, its latch stubborn and difficult to unclip. Earrings, rings, and a brooch followed, each as obstinate as the last, and his frustration grew. “I’m scared,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone, “I’m… I’s’ scared.” Before he could fully gather his thoughts, the four other Korean women found him. They grabbed his hands, guiding him somewhere with firm yet gentle pressure. “Eun-ji, you cannot wander off like this!” Hana scolded in broken English, tightening the blouse. “Eun-ji, you too old for dis,” Soo added, her voice mixing chiding tones with a soft warning. “Jigeum geumanhae.” Ben, now trapped in Eun-ji's body, couldn’t understand a word. The language was foreign, adding another layer of fear to his situation. The women dragged him toward the parking lot, where emptiness gave way to lurking zombies. Terrified beyond words, Ben looked around desperately for a way out. As the women led him through the maze of undead, he could only think of one thing: his mother, now lost in the chaos.
Post your own comment: