The Imaginary Lovers

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I need to take it easy today, so the bulk of the heavy lifting for this post will be done by someone else. Here is an idea I like a lot from supporter Irénée “the Rabid Walrus” Martre. Why do they call him the Rabid Walrus? They don’t. I just put that there, so this site won’t show up in a Google search for his name.

In his own words, here’s his idea called…

The Imaginary Lovers

You and your friend Louise are sitting at a café terrace in the 8th arrondissement of Paris on a July evening. You told her that you wanted to try something with her, and she asks what it is. "You know, this is one of the most romantic places in the world, and sometimes I think we forget about it because we live here. There's something I've always wanted to do about it, do you want to try it with me?”

She agrees. You pay the bill and start walking.

"What I had in mind was a guided tour about two lovers of the neighbourhood, but we're going to create their story together." You point to the fourth floor of a building: "This is where our first lover lives. What’s his name?" She decides that Achilles would suit him. You walk around a bit and point to another one, for the second lover. She hesitates for a few seconds then settles on Léa.

Now the tour begins, in the footsteps of Achille and Léa. You decide on their character, their age, their friends, their family, etc. While wandering through the streets, you gradually bring them to life.

Then, it’s time for them to meet. Louise decides that April is the most romantic month to fall in love.

As you pass in front of a laundromat, she suggests that they met there. Then, you see the café where they often used to go, the bench where they had their first kiss, their favourite cinema, and so on.

You continue until you reach the Debilly footbridge. You turn to Louise. "You know, neither of them live in Paris anymore. They moved abroad. But before leaving, they decided to leave something behind, because this place was very important to them. It might sound silly, but they bought some markers and a big padlock. They wrote their initials on it, and they hung it on this bridge. And you know what? The padlock is still here."

You walk on the bridge, and there are hundreds of padlocks hanging from the railings. You arrive at one of them, where Louise can read a half-faded inscription: "A+L". It also has a combination lock.

You turn to her. "You said that they met in April, but you didn't say which day. What was it?" She answers twenty-fourth. "Maybe try 24/04 then." She takes the padlock, and enters the numbers 2, 4, 0, and 4. The lock opens.

Explanation

Deadlock by Michael Murray + accomplice who writes the initials on the padlock + bit of sandpaper to make the writing look old. The combination of the two methods cancel each other out, which is quite nice.

One clarification: it's better to ask for a Season first and then a month. It's less common to get Winter so you don't get October, November or December (which you don't want with Deadlock). If she insists on Winter, then you can steer it so that the date corresponds to their first kiss, or when they moved in together, etc.

What a fun idea! You don’t have to be in Paris to do the trick. Talk about a pair of young lovers who lived wherever you are at the moment who were inspired by reading about other such bridges, and it inspired them to do something similar wherever you are.

You’ll need some way to signal to your accomplice what the needed initials are. You could have them on the other end of the phone in your pocket. Or go old school and signal to them the letters in sign language while they spy on you through binoculars.

Those of you with Dead Lock will understand the limitations of that method as mentioned in the explanation. I think Irénée’s suggestion on how to get around that is a good one.

Thanks to the Rabid Walrus for sharing this idea.