Lock

Gold cherry

By airyfairy

Thu, 04 Aug 2022
  • 6877 reads
30 comments
 

Hello, visitor.

 You want to capture a remembrance? No problem.

Ah, well, the cost depends on how long you want to hold it for.

Twenty-five quid will get you one of those bronze padlocks. Our Grade 3. They’re all right, but a stiff wind might get them loose. You do get the key with them, so when you get bored with holding that remembrance, you just turn the key, open the lock, and it will fly away, disappear, and never trouble you again.

Fifty quid gets you a silver one, our Grade 2 lock. Once you’ve whispered your remembrance into that, it will hold for a least a decade, maybe longer. We hold the key for the ten years, and then it’s handed back to you, so you can unlock it and let the memory fly, or you can leave it there until eventually time and the elements do their work and it floats away without you even noticing.

A hundred quid, and now you’re talking. The Gold. Our Grade 1. Nothing will shift that, not storm, not flood, not hail, fire or the end of the universe can break that lock. And we keep the key forever, so you can’t let that one go. That one will stay, fixed, for the rest of your life, and you’ll even have the privilege of passing it on, should you feel the need. Let those you’ll leave behind put their ear to the lock and catch the whisper, and they’ll carry it forever too.

For better or worse.

So, visitor. You want to capture a remembrance?

 

If you would like to hear this story read, it's here: Lock by Jane Ayrie (soundcloud.com)

Certificate 12
Story
Imitating Life (One-off Stories)
Other Fiction

Comments

Submitted by celticman on

£100. Lasts forever. Longer than a life. Sounds about right. Put myself under lock and key. Nicely read. Rather read than dead. 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thanks for reading, celtic. I must say, I sometimes think I'd pay my life savings not have to remember a lot of what's going on at the moment. 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

I thought you read this so well Jane. Your voice is perfect for capturing the atmosphere. I've never heard of these locks before, so thank you for introducing me to them.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thank you, Jenny. The padlocks ('lovelocks' is apparently the correct terminology) seem to have sprouted in many places over the last twenty years or so. I understand the sentiment, but I do think such things are a hostage to fortune, a bit like tattoos of the beloved which people then pay a fortune to laser off when the wind changes.

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

What a lovely quirky IP response. Those locks are a relatively new thing aren't they? do you have them in York somewhere?

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

I always thought they originated in Paris, but according to Wikipedia (so it must be true) there is a Hungarian story about a woman who fastened padlocks to bridges in memory of her lover who was killed in the First World War. I think mass padlocking is a 21st century phenomenon, though, no idea why, in bulk they do awful things to the structure of a bridge - the Pont des Arts almost collapsed. We do have them in York on a couple of bridges, but I think the Council hacks them off if it all gets a bit enthusiastic. I'm sure it's tourists rather than locals. No Yorkie would think it a good use of their hard-earned to buy a padlock, stick it on something that didn't need locking, and then throw the key in the river. Definition of barm brains. 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Padlocks on the bridge do show a desire for strong committment I guess.

This padlock idea does cause thought about how much do we want to remember this or that. Do want to remember something, or forget? The latter is less easy. I've sometimes had to pray help to forget something I've read, and wished I hadn't, as it seemed to encourage dwelling unhelpfully on a matter best forgotten. Hopefully if a memory is good enough to want to buy a gold padlock, it will have lodged itself firmly in our heart and brain!

But it can seem odd the childhood and later scenes that have stuck in the mind as if they must have been so important at the time. Rhiannon

 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thanks for reading, Rhiannon. What and how we remember does fascinate me. Years ago there was a German TV series called 'Heimat', shown in the UK, a drama about a family from before WW2 up to the millennium. The earlier years were fiilmed in black and white, but now and again they would put in a moment or two of vivid colour, to show an event or person or landscape that had a particular effect on one of the characters. Ever since then I've thought of those childhood and later moments that stick in our minds as our own 'technicolour moments', good or bad, that for some reason lodge so firmly in our memories.

Submitted by marandina on

Ah yes, these padlock thingies are very popular aren't they? Usually attached to a bridge somewhere. Felt like there was an underlying message in this. Beautifully read, of course (your diction is so much better than mine!). I have listened to all of your Pad Life tales on SoundCloud too. Highly recommended to anyone following this thread.

Paul :) 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thank you for reading and listening, Paul - that's very kind. I love hearing your stuff - you have such a lilt to your voice, that takes the listener right into the heart of the poem or story. It's lovely that quite a few ABC Talers are reading out their stuff now. 

Maybe the padlocks are there because few people can now go and carve initials and a heart on the local oak tree, although 'Daz & Kaz 4 eva' still seems quite popular on the walls of the railway underpass near me. 

Submitted by jeand on

HI Airy

That was a nice advert.  They  make a big deal of those locks on the bridge for sealing true love on one of the Australian soap operas. I never saw it as much of a deal, but now I know there is money to be made out of it - well let's hope you get lots of customers. 

Jean Day

Submitted by airyfairy on

Special discounts offered to friends, Jean, if you fancy it! 

Thank you for reading.

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Us and rivers.  If there are river gods what do they think of tiny keys compared with the swords and stuff people used to throw in to try to buy good luck. I didn't know the bridge in France nearly collapsed :0) You made me think of the whole cycle, lock sellers happily totting uptheir takings, wondering about a new angle for advertising, while councils have to pay people to clear the locks off and sell them for metal scrap. And if a happy relationship suddenly turns as the wire cutter snips through the padlock hoop, the hopeful  feeling when it ws put there flying up like a butterfly and falling into cold grey water

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

You can get the padlocks specially engraved, which is another commercial opportunity. That's a good point about the river gods. I hate to think how fed up they must be with shopping trolleys and bicycles. Perhaps little keys don't seem quite so bad, although if river gods have feet, it must be irritating to keep finding little keys wedged between your toes.

Thanks for reading, Di! 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day!

Please share/retweet if you enjoy it too!

 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thank you! Been out for the day so this was a lovely surprise to come back to! 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

Great piece of short / flash fiction this. 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thank you, Drew. My current project is to cut out my usual waffle! 

Submitted by drhilarius on

Lovely advert.  A big fan of your writing. 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Yes, I'm sure we could arrange something with FedEx! 

Thank you for reading.

Submitted by Penny4athought on

I've heard of the locks on the bridge in Paris but I hadn't heard of them anywhere else, so this was interesting. I enjoyed the materialistic, advertising bent on what price you’re willing to pay for that lasting love, and as always your perspective is humorous. It was a nice part of my day to find something new from your pen.smiley

Penny4athought

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thank you, Penny. It seems possible to monetise anything these days. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone comes up with a workable plan for this exact thing! 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

laugh

I would buy a padlock for a strongbox to put my memory inside so I won't loose it when I get old.

gotta be a market for that too :)

well deserved golden cherries (what do they cost?)

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thanks for reading, Ed. My memory seems able to escape from whatever I try to hold it down with these days! 

Submitted by catherine poarch on

I loved this. It caught my eye because of the Pero Bridge in Bristol, covered in padlocks. But it also sounds like the premise of a quirky fantasy story of some kind. I wonder how much choice we have with our memories? It built up nicely to the last paragraph, really thought-provoking. 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thank you, Catherine, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! 

Submitted by Kris on

Go Girl Go* & with a sales pitch like that, I'll take 2 gold...

I feel better already!..... .. #loveit

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thank you for reading, Kris.

Submitted by Maxine Jasmin-Green on

Enjoyed reading this.

heart

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Thank you! Lovely of you to take the time to read and comment.