~ Bonnie Orbison’s debut novel ~

Berlin 2017/18. Ellen & Joachim. A singer & an actor.

After both break up with their partners, a mutual friend takes them in and the two end up sharing a guest bedroom.

Ellen and Joachim are heartbroken and devastated by how their long relationships could end. Exactly the moment they thought their relationships would last forever, the universe, or some other greater power they don’t believe in, showed them otherwise.

Together, they start their journey of overcoming heartache, regaining trust in other people and trying to pave a new way for love to enter their lives.

A novel about the journey of unloving and reloving most of us are bound to experience once in our lifetime.

“The fireworks rose from every corner. They would have lit up the night sky well enough to walk around without streetlamps. Ellen buried her face in her wool scarf. She’d had enough of the studio she had been sleeping, working, baking and living in for the past week. All the people she saw on the bridge close to the Brandenburg Gate were on their way back home. Ellen must have been 13 years old when she was celebrating her first New Year’s Eve in Berlin. Together with her mother and her partner, they were traveling the city by tramway. She was still dreaming about becoming a musician back then. Things used to be so happy and easy, Ellen thought. She reached the Landwehrkanal, a place she had been coming to whenever she needed some silence to regain “strength since her first day in Berlin. The water was glistening and you could see the full moon reflecting on its surface, as well as the colours of a few late fireworks. She looked up and abruptly stopped walking. A strange man was sitting in her favourite spot. Ellen had never seen him before. She took a few steps closer to the bench.

“Hello, Monsieur?”

The man’s eyes met Ellen’s.

She thought he was...how could she put it...beautifully masculine. He had high cheekbones which Ellen found really attractive and complimented his otherwise rough appearance.

“May I sit down?”

He nodded but couldn’t avert his gaze.

She was rather tall and slim. Her brown curly hair seemed familiar to him, though he wasn’t sure why. Her appearance was rather feminine yet farouche, which had always been a trait he found appealing in women. He moved over to make enough room for the unknown beauty on the bench. When she was sitting next to him, he observed her.

“Are you French?”, he asked.

She looked at him. “Oui, Monsieur.”

Ellen observed him as well.

“What made you spend your New Year’s Eve out here?”, she asked him.

“I have “He hadn’t met a lot of women like her. The independent ones that know exactly what they want and how to get it.

“Do you come here often?” They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. Too long, Joachim thought. “Very often, yes.”

She stood up before Joachim could look away. “What’s your name?”, she asked.

“Achim.”

She walked back in the direction she came from. “Well, maybe we’ll meet again, Joachim.”

She smiled. “Au revior, Monsieur, et bonne année!” She waved goodbye.

“Bon nuit!”, Joachim whispered when she had already walked away. He shook his head slightly and thought about the mysterious woman, whose name he didn’t know, for a long time.”

violence, narcissism & mention of suicide

ISBN: 9783982217031

first released 04/05/2021

139 pages

translated into English by Isabell Schanda