"Whispers in the Darkness: Love's Magic",
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Benjamin had just hung up the phone when the familiar ache nudged at his heart. Missing David was part of loving David, especially when he was away at one of his many magical conferences. He undressed, leaving only his pajama bottoms on before climbing into bed with a sigh. The room was dim, save for the sliver of moonlight sneaking through the curtains.
Turning off the bedside lamp, Benjamin lay there, his mind reaching out across the miles to find the warmth of David’s embrace in the darkness. The rhythm of his husband’s heartbeat was embedded in his memory; he could almost hear it, lulling him to sleep. He closed his eyes, the corners of his lips pulling into a smile as he imagined their bodies entwined, David’s arms wrapped protectively around him.
Sometime in the indeterminate depth of the night, Benjamin was roused by the softest of touches—a caress along his cheek, the smoothing of his hair. Barely awake, he reached back, yearning to return the touch, only to feel the cold emptiness of the bed. His eyes snapped open, and the remnants of sleep dissolved in an instant of pure panic. Someone had to be in the room. A stranger. An intruder.
His heart hammered as he stumbled out of bed, bolting toward the bathroom door and slamming it shut behind him. He pressed his back against the wood, bracing for any force that might try to break in. The silence was deafening, each second stretching into an eternity.
It was then he felt a peculiar weight under his arms. Bizarrely curious in his terror, Benjamin lifted his hands, meeting a strange resistance. Unsteady fingers flicked the bathroom light on.
The sudden brightness stung, and it took a moment for his vision to clear. When it did, he couldn’t believe what he saw. Another pair of arms—wearing his husband’s ring, sporting the familiar gym-toned muscles—hung limply, nested below his own. Every instinct told him this couldn’t be real, yet he knew the broad hands, the sprinkle of hair on the knuckles and forearms, the touch that felt like home.
Heart pounding, he took the left hand into his. As his fingers closed around it, it responded with a gentle squeeze. Could this be David’s magic at work?
Only one way to find out. Benjamin closed his eyes, thinking hard, wishing for the arms to wrap around his chest. Instantly, they obeyed, crossing over his body in an embrace so familiar, it drew a tear to his eye.
He opened his eyes to find the extra hands before him, moving as though miming the very thoughts in his mind. Desire and gratitude washed over him, and he silently thanked his husband for the wondrous gift.
With a new sense of calm, Benjamin turned off the lights and walked back to bed. As he settled under the covers, David’s arms seemed to know exactly where to touch, where to knead away the knots of tension and worry. Benjamin sighed in contentment, feeling cradled by an invisible, yet unmistakably real, presence.
When morning light poured in through the curtains, Benjamin stirred. The arms were gone, vanished as mysteriously as they had appeared. For a moment, he wondered if it had all been a sleepy hallucination, until the soft chime of his phone drew his attention. A new message awaited him.
"I hope the 'gifts' I sent brought you comfort last night," read the text. "All of me will be home soon."
Benjamin smiled, fingers tracing over the words as he replied, "They did, love. The best magic you've ever done."
As he lay back, the day just beginning but already sprinkled with the promise of soon-to-be-shared moments, Benjamin felt the echoes of David’s embrace still lingering in the air. And he knew, without a doubt, that love like theirs could traverse any distance, and overcome any absence.
This story was generated by user bud 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: write a story about a man who just gets off the phone with his husband, a magician away attending a professional magic conference. he undresses and climbs into bed wearing only his pajama bottoms and turns out the light. when he closes his eyes, he thinks about the warm embrace of in husband's arms as he falls asleep. late into the night, he is awakened by familiar touches on his cheek and hair. when reflexively reaches back to return of touch, his hand finds the spot where his husband would sleep empty, and he remembers that he is supposed to be home alone. he becomes alarmed that someone, a stranger, must be in the room with him, and he scrambles out of bed and runs to the nearest door, the bathroom, stumbling in the dimness until he reaches and passes through the door, slams it shut, then presses himself against it in case the intruder tries to force his way in. he listens in the silence for any sounds, but he hears nothing but quiet. that's when he notices the sensations of something weighing from his sides, just below his armpits. he moves his arms to press against the sides of his torso, but he feels soft but firm obstacles blocking them. he reaches out and turns flicks a wall switch that turns on the bathroom lights. after his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, he looks at his reflection and sees what appear to be a second pair of arms and hands nested below his, hanging limp and idle. he steps to the mirror to look and finds them very familiar. his eyes then turn down to look st the extra left arm directly. when he takes the hand into his and looks at the fingers, he recognizes the wedding ring and realizes this is indeed his husband's arm. he picks up the other extra hand and holds them to his face for a close look - these are his husband's muscular, gym-toned hands and arms, right down to the hairs that dust the knuckles and forearms. as he holds them, the extra hands and arms hang idle in his, and when he wishes there was a sign that they are real, the fingers and thumbs wiggle to an unspoken cue. he releases them and they hold themselves up before him, turning its wrists and bending its elbows as the fingers continued to open and close for his inspection. to confirm his suspicion, he closes his eyes and wishes for the arms to reach out across his chest and hold his shoulders in an embrace, which they immediately do without hesitation. he silently thanks his husband as he turns off the light and makes his way back to bed. as he pulls the covers over him, his husbands arms start massaging his neck, shoulders and other spots in response to the thoughts going through his mind, with just the right touch as read from his unconscious desires. in the morning he wakes up and finds his husbands arms have disappeared in his sleep.he checks his cell phone and finds a text message from his husband waiting for him, saying that he hoped the "gifts" he sent were a comfort, and that all of him would be home soon.
Response: Benjamin had just hung up the phone when the familiar ache nudged at his heart. Missing David was part of loving David, especially when he was away at one of his many magical conferences. He undressed, leaving only his pajama bottoms on before climbing into bed with a sigh. The room was dim, save for the sliver of moonlight sneaking through the curtains. Turning off the bedside lamp, Benjamin lay there, his mind reaching out across the miles to find the warmth of David’s embrace in the darkness. The rhythm of his husband’s heartbeat was embedded in his memory; he could almost hear it, lulling him to sleep. He closed his eyes, the corners of his lips pulling into a smile as he imagined their bodies entwined, David’s arms wrapped protectively around him. Sometime in the indeterminate depth of the night, Benjamin was roused by the softest of touches—a caress along his cheek, the smoothing of his hair. Barely awake, he reached back, yearning to return the touch, only to feel the cold emptiness of the bed. His eyes snapped open, and the remnants of sleep dissolved in an instant of pure panic. Someone had to be in the room. A stranger. An intruder. His heart hammered as he stumbled out of bed, bolting toward the bathroom door and slamming it shut behind him. He pressed his back against the wood, bracing for any force that might try to break in. The silence was deafening, each second stretching into an eternity. It was then he felt a peculiar weight under his arms. Bizarrely curious in his terror, Benjamin lifted his hands, meeting a strange resistance. Unsteady fingers flicked the bathroom light on. The sudden brightness stung, and it took a moment for his vision to clear. When it did, he couldn’t believe what he saw. Another pair of arms—wearing his husband’s ring, sporting the familiar gym-toned muscles—hung limply, nested below his own. Every instinct told him this couldn’t be real, yet he knew the broad hands, the sprinkle of hair on the knuckles and forearms, the touch that felt like home. Heart pounding, he took the left hand into his. As his fingers closed around it, it responded with a gentle squeeze. Could this be David’s magic at work? Only one way to find out. Benjamin closed his eyes, thinking hard, wishing for the arms to wrap around his chest. Instantly, they obeyed, crossing over his body in an embrace so familiar, it drew a tear to his eye. He opened his eyes to find the extra hands before him, moving as though miming the very thoughts in his mind. Desire and gratitude washed over him, and he silently thanked his husband for the wondrous gift. With a new sense of calm, Benjamin turned off the lights and walked back to bed. As he settled under the covers, David’s arms seemed to know exactly where to touch, where to knead away the knots of tension and worry. Benjamin sighed in contentment, feeling cradled by an invisible, yet unmistakably real, presence. When morning light poured in through the curtains, Benjamin stirred. The arms were gone, vanished as mysteriously as they had appeared. For a moment, he wondered if it had all been a sleepy hallucination, until the soft chime of his phone drew his attention. A new message awaited him. "I hope the 'gifts' I sent brought you comfort last night," read the text. "All of me will be home soon." Benjamin smiled, fingers tracing over the words as he replied, "They did, love. The best magic you've ever done." As he lay back, the day just beginning but already sprinkled with the promise of soon-to-be-shared moments, Benjamin felt the echoes of David’s embrace still lingering in the air. And he knew, without a doubt, that love like theirs could traverse any distance, and overcome any absence.
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