Moving, leaving, packing, saying goodbye. Saying hello to the unknown, deciding to face it. Making lists, selecting, reorganising my life. Cleaning, removing, selecting.
Today I’m leaving for Berlin.
Perhaps my chain of keys is most symbolic for it all. I had a lot of keys, but one by one I returned them. To people who didn’t want me to stay with them anymore. To friends who had opened their house and hosted me whenever I wanted. And of course there was this one key that I should have returned years ago. Now I finally did. But I also leave keys behind that I won’t be needing for some time. Someone else can use my bike while I am away.
But I will take one key with me, from the lock that was stolen. To remind myself that everything disappears at some point. And all one is left with, is a token, a memory, a reminder of what is irretrievably lost forever.