Paulo had been on Le Bab for about a month, although he had spent more time on other sites - researching art history, texting friends, posting some of his drawings, or occasionally an expressive poem under his pseudonym Dantellos on Wattpad. But this particular evening he was more intentional in browsing, so to speak.
Le Bab had been created by two ingenious young men in France, and quickly rushed to market. As with any application in the digital age, the time to strike was yesterday. Its genius was a special form of artificial intelligence that enabled people from different languages to communicate real time. Each user was able to read and comprehend the text transmissions of a foreign language in their own native language, as the parties interacted concurrently. It was even rumored that the French guys were working on a speech-to-speech conversion for certain languages, using headsets and vid-cams that would allow for a face to face conversation. Oh-la-la!
Paulo navigated to the section which highlighted new users, and began to scan the new members of Le Bab. One particular entry caught his eye. As he was reading the snippets of a young lady's profile, he was reading the Tagalog translation that the program generated. He could read English with some proficiency, as can many in the Philippines. But he preferred the dominant dialect in his native land.
Em400...North Carolina...USA. Hmm.
Paulo knew of course that the likelihood of the photo actually being her was remote, since people used avatars for safety. But the picture she chose had to say something about her, right? He was drawn, and thus...click
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[I did it! I created my profile on Le Bab! -Em]
[That's great! No go meet somebody. That is all. -Joy]
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Emily checked her phone; probably Joy wanting a status report already. But no, quelle surprise - her first notification from Le Bab! Emily excitedly scanned the notification and clicked the link in her email to jump to the app. Definitely a boy...someone named Dantellos...from the - Philippines. Of course...
YOU ARE READING
Half A Day Away
Short StoryWritten for the #SummerBreeze writing contest hosted by @shadowswithinme A short story about two young people from different parts of the world who fall in love online and struggle to maintain their relationship while keeping it secret from their fa...
