Melt!
It was Valentine’s Day 1983 when I received an anonymous package. It arrived through the internal mail at the Insurance office where I worked in London. Opening the package, I discovered a cassette-tape on which there was a handmade label with the words ‘our wedding music’ at the centre of a beautifully intricate interwoven design. It was a work of art created with many different coloured felt-tip pens and must have taken hours to complete.
In my car after work, I played the tape and was surprised to find it featured only one song and nothing else. The song was ‘Melt!’ by Siouxsie & The Banshees and, to my mind, it was an odd choice for a piece of wedding music.
I think I eventually worked out who my secret admirer was. I was convinced it was a girl from the post-room who always seemed to be dressed in black and whom I’d spoken to at various times around the office.
But there was to be no marriage, no date, not even a single stolen kiss on the stairwell. This was hardly surprising as she always seemed embarrassed and would avert her gaze whenever our paths crossed.
A few months later I left the company to go and work for a competitor. I never saw the girl again but I often think of her and what might have been.
Whenever I hear that song, I picture her listening while sketching intricate designs with all those coloured pens and imagining us dancing on our never-to-be wedding day.
Not knowing Melt (or Siouxsie's work in general) I was curious as to why the narrator didn't examine the song choice any further and why he'd not made an effort to return the favour (minus the felt pens).
Reading the song's lyrics I can see why he might've been scared to go anywhere near that girl again (which given his fantasies later in life didn't seem to be the case).
Or was the intent to show he overcame these fears - only to feel regret?
Hi Simon, got it in one! The intention was to show a possible missed opportunity but youthful fear being the factor that prevented any further contact between the two.
Hindsight is a great manipulator of our memories. I had a linked experience when meeting up again with someone whom I considered the great lost love of my life only to find that the reality of unrequited love is never the same as the fantasy of it.
Mark
In reply to Not knowing Melt (or… by SimonDeayelle
Hi Hannah, thanks so much for the feedback. It's really appreciated. I really enjoy writing short pieces that act as a snippet of life. I wanted it to come across as quirky piece but it wasn't until I finished it that I also realised how sad it is. I guess it's the dream of what might have been that we've all encountered at some time in our lives. Thanks again, Mark.
This was a very interesting read - I felt sad for them both at the end. Beautifully written, well done.