THE LOVE LOCK BRIDGE
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It was 08:45 am.
All of the office employees had already arrived. It seemed a bit busy for a normal workday.
Clare, the office-in-charge was arranging all the documents to be shown on demand. She was anticipating someone's arrival.
Yes. She was coming. The new CEO, who took charge of the position after the demise of her father.
“Clare, she is here.” Someone from the lobby shouted.
Anna. She reached the office in her father’s Mercedes. John, her personal assistant held the door open for her.
She was in a baby pink Chanel suit, with open silky golden hair, a small chain around her neck, classy shoes and very neatly done nails.
She seemed a bit tough. John accompanied Anna as she walked to her office with Clare.
“Hello, Miss. Anna. We are very glad to have you in the business. And, we are extremely sorry for your loss.” Clare made sure she was getting comfortable with a bit of her motherly instincts.
After all, she has been seeing Anna from a very young age, from the times she used to visit the office with her dad. The last time Clare saw Anna was the time she flew to The States for her studies.
“Miss Clare, I am also very happy about this reunion. Let me get used to my dad’s disciplines in his office. I would really need your help with this. You were his best employee always.”
“Sure, I will be there for you, dear.”Clare took the leave and John stayed outside by the door.
Anna walked around the office. She gazed through the french window to let herself dip in the beauty of the city.
PARIS. The city she grew up, the city where she learned to dream, the city where she had fallen in love, the city she knew was her home. And, now the city where she is gonna build her empire.
“Miss Anna, here are a few letters for you.” John placed them on her table and went back.
Anna took a look at them. A lot of them were from her business partners conveying condolences over her dad’s demise.
Anna’s dad revealed his terminal illness to Anna only during his last week. It was pretty much shocking for her. Her father meant the world to her.
The streets of Paris knew how loud her laughs were when her dad took her out to play. Her dad had transformed her life after adopting her from an orphanage. The parks, the cafes, the lakes all knew how happy that father and child were.
That’s the thing about Paris. It is the city of hopes. It is the city of love. It is the city of “an irrevocable condition for fantasy that evokes nostalgia or daydreams.”
Anna had an electric spark through her brain just when she saw a letter addressed on her name from her dad. She was frozen and couldn’t move. This might be the last words her father had saved for her.
Anna opened the letter in immense happiness and excitement. Paris had put her in the euphoria she had been missing for a very long time.
Hey Anna,
Its dad. I hope you like my office. Do not even think of messing it up!
I know I can happily rest on the other side knowing you are the one completing whatever I had started. You are the best at what you do. I know that.
Of course, you are gonna face a lot of challenges hereafter. Because, taking over something someone else had started is much tougher than starting something on your own. I know this, which is why I thought you are the best person who can get the job done!
Girl, I do not want you to lose a life that is apart from the office and work. I want you not to confine yourselves into the premises of this office and business.
I want you to LIVE in PARIS. Your favourite city. I want you to take a walk on the streets where we used to walk. I want you to meet new people. I want you to put a lock at the Pont des Arts, the love lock bridge once AGAIN.
I want you to help the many children of Paris who need a helping hand. I had been seeing your face in all the helpless children I saw.
I want you to be the lady who grew from a girl within the cocoon her dad made for her. This city will help you with this.
Anna, I would want you to help me with something. Check my drawer. You will know what to do with it.
Love,
Dad
Anna was neither sad nor gloomy, just what her dad wanted. She was happy. She was content.
Anna opened the drawer and saw a box. It was a red velvet box. She opened it. She saw a lock in it. It was her dad’s.
Anna had a smile on her face. Tears rolled out of her eyes seeing the lock.
“John, come, let's go out. I’ll drive.” Anna jumped out of her seat.
The streets of Paris always had wind of luxury to it. There were clinks of teapots somewhere in the air.
“Bon Jour”, the city wished everyone who was new to Paris. The city of lights could heal any pain. Sein flows with the gushing patience, taking off all the worries one could probably have.
The cathedrals, the theatres, the museums were all built to help the people forget themselves in the divine beauty the city had. The city had been witnessing emotions like the rungs of the Eiffel tower.
The Marais Neighborhood had the amateur art lovers and the Parisian bourgeois waiting to unleash the history to anyone who explores the city on foot. The romantic dinners, the red wines, and long walks are still a part of the people.
Anna took a walk around the city, the breeze all through her hair and mind. She had reached Pont des Arts. She walked through the bridge, remembering the last time she had walked there.
John watched her walking and followed her.
Anna took out the lock she got from her dad’s drawer. She looked at the chain she had around her neck. It was a golden heart locket. She opened it, and there was a tiny key inside the locket.
Anna put the lock on the bridge with her key. The lock had her name on it. ANNA. Her dad had written it.
The key was given to her the last time they had walked through the bridge before she left the city. She had no clue back then what to do with it.
“Kid! Hold this. This shall be the key to your happiness, your dreams and your endeavours. You will need this. So, keep this key safe somewhere.” Her dad’s words were still afresh in her memory. She remembered how wide his smile was and how his eyes sparkled in the golden hour at the bridge last time.
Anna walked. There was a homeless boy standing clueless and alone at the bridge. His face said he hasn’t had food for days. He was ALONE.
She knew at that moment what her father had felt years back. Anna stretched her hand towards the boy with all the shimmer in her smile. Her smile had love, affection, empathy, kindness and feelings that are still to be written about. The boy couldn't stop him from tears. They both walked hand in hand.
The city has witnessed all kinds of love.
Immortal ones, evergreen ones, irreplaceable ones. Just like her father’s love for her.
Anna and the boy walked back to the car. John followed her. It was the golden hour. He saw an obscure shadow following Anna and the child.
