The Last Truth

by AnaMaria Curtis

A runaway and indentured thief, Eri must provide a new secret to open each new lock, at the cost of her own memory. Hundreds of locks later, Eri can barely recall her own past. An unanticipated alliance with a musician may prove the key to both their freedoms—if Eri doesn't lose herself in the process.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Music

25 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 22, 2022

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a tricky business, opening truth-locks. Only truths a lockbreaker has told nobody else can open a lock. As soon as a truth is spoken aloud to the lock, it disappears, unusable—and the memory that sparked it goes too.

i'm so glad to be back on the tor-short-train after derailing myself for a couple of months, but also so angry that i missed reading this one when it first dropped on the site.

it's a beautiful, haunting, bittersweet story, powered by the same 'memory-loss-as-identity-loss' theme as one of my all-time favorite books, The Book of M. even though this is such a compact little piece, i felt genuinely panicky and unmoored as eri's memories were stripped from her, which means that either AnaMaria Curtis is a fantastic writer or i've finally earned my reader-empathy wings.

eri is an indentured thief, with freedom in her sights, but the task she has been set in exchange for her freedom is extremely demanding:

She has opened nearly two thousand boxes since Mareck bought her from the prison ship and wrote her a contract: open every box on five ships, and he would let her go, far from where she came from, a free woman.

every time eri opens a truth lock, she loses one of her memories, and since some locks require bigger truths than others, her memory-reserves are dwindling, her self-awareness is narrowing, and the promise of freedom is dulled by the uncertainty of what she will even have left of herself to build her new life upon.

onboard this final-job's ship, she meets and befriends a violinist named anea, whose life is as restrictive and agency as limited as eri's, and yet, together they might have enough power between them to free each other.

oh my god, it's just lovely and moving and it poked at my feels relentlessly. thank you, tor shorts, for taking this strayed reader back into yer fold.



read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2022/02/22/the-la...

come to my blog!

[Lizzie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting.

[mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eri is a lock breaker. But not a usual one, she unlocks chests with the truth, but at the cost of her memory.

The first-place winner of the LeVar Burton Reads writing contest. This short story is available for free on Tor.com: The Last Truth.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really clever short story about a lockbreaker who opens locks with truths at the cost of her memories. For such a short piece there was a lot of character development - probably due in part to the very nature of the story. With every opened box a truth, and part of the backstory, is revealed. I wanted a little more from the music aspect and how that concept works in this world to reclaim memories and effect emotions and behaviours, however overall this was pretty solid.

[Barondestructo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is actually a short story, a fantastical tale about a thief, Eri, who opens locks by revealing personal secrets. The twist is that once the secret is revealed, it leaves her memory forever. There’s no explanation for why the locks in this world respond to secrets, what makes our protagonist particularly proficient at opening locks, or why the owners of said locked boxes don’t foresee the flaw in their security systems. The grounding logic is of lesser importance than the story of our indentured heroine attempting to win her freedom by unlocking all of the boxes on a ship before it reaches its destination. She meets a musician who is seeking her own freedom and the two plot their escape. Al the while Eri continues to lose her memories and sense of self. This all leads up to the last box and the “final truth” which ends up feeling like a bit of a cheat. The plot points are there for a unique and heartfelt story, but the lack of underlying logic and short page count deny the possibility.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about an indentured lock breaker on a ship who would be free after this final trip when she breaks the locks in the hold of the ship for her master, who steals the items. But to break the magical locks, she must tell a truth about herself to the locks, and each truth is lost to her in the telling. In this story, she meets a musician, whose music has the power to make people dance and possibly forget (or remember) themselves. Together, they plan to escape their indentured lives, but only once the thief makes one final effort to break an intricate lock with the last of her truths, and if the musician can help her remember herself.

[Sky. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The truth is,” she says helplessly, “I have no truths left to give.”

Even though this book is only 25 pages, it still made me cry 😢.

[Orla · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so beautiful ! i loved this. short but moving.

[Shiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and heartbreaking!

I sometimes think to myself what would happen if we can erase the bad memories, so that we are not haunted by them anymore; no nightmares … no regrets.

In The Last Truth, Eri is giving up her truths and losing those memories as they leave her. But who are we if not the sum of all our memories and truths? And how will we be going on living, if we are not whole anymore?

“The memories don’t hurt anymore, not really. It’s their absence that hurts.”

5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story is phenomenal. A girl gives up her memories to pick locks for a slaver (who tells her she'll be free once all the boxes in the ship's hold are opened). It's really creative and pulls the reader directly into Eri's life, making one feel her emotions, and allowing one to see the ship. Highly recommend!

[Mangrii · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Quiénes somos sino la suma de todos nuestros recuerdos y verdades? ¿Y cómo vamos a seguir viviendo, si ya no estamos completos? Esta es la pregunta que surge nada más terminar de leer "La última verdad", un hermoso y conmovedor relato de AnaMaría Curtis que nos trae Aanuk y fue originalmente publicado en 2022 por Tor.com y la revista FIYAH.

La historia nos cuenta como Eri, una ladrona por contrato, tiene la exigente tarea de abrir cerraduras para robar las mercancías que viajan en el barco. Sin embargo, estas cerraduras no exigen llaves ni intrincadas maniobras, sino recuerdos y verdades. Por contra, cada verdad utilizada se pierde en el limbo y se borra de tu ser. Un alto coste para poder ser libre.

[Patricia notonlyreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué tierno y un poquito desgarrador también 💜

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of originality and feeling is packed into this very short story. The connections between memory, music, and personhood were intriguing, and I think a book club could have a great discussion based on this 15-20 minute read. I’m curious about how this world came to be, where you unlock things by giving up memories, and music is viewed as such a danger. I’m torn over whether or not I’d want a whole novel set in this world, or if this short story was all I needed. I think the latter.

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Last Truth" is an incredible short story, about an indentured thief who opens truth locks by revealing a memory, which she then forfeits from her memory. After years of this work, Eri is left with very few memories of who she is.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The winner of the LeVar Burton Reads podcast contest was this bittersweet tale of how memories define us. Set in an alternative world, Eri is an indentured thief, who is forced to pick locks for her mobster employer. However, locks are opened by revealing memories, that then disappear from their minds, which results in a great cost for the thief. Eri meets a musician on board the ship they are on, and both wish to escape together, but will Eri be Eri any more once she completes the last required lock-picking? As Eri faces an uncertain future, readers will ponder if friendship, music and/or love can reestablish old memories. Will a possibility of good new memories renew her?

[ambyr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am fundamentally the wrong audience for this story. It is trying to sail through on the strength of its emotional truths and allegories, and I just get bogged down in, "Why the heck would anyone design a lock to work that way?"

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

In order to pick the lock, a truth must be told. What could be the last truth a thief could reveal?

A fascinating story. Curtis sets the plot and the characters up perfectly.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the author doesn't explicitly state it, this story gave me strong vibes/corollaries of dementia setting in. This was a very poignant story.

[Vanellope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should have been a little more explicitly queer for my tastes, but overall I got invested very quickly, which is a great sign for a short story.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of eBook

An indentured thief, Eri is required to open the locks on hundreds and hundreds of boxes. The opening of each lock requires the giving of a truth . . . at the cost of a piece of her memory. But at the end of this journey, she will have completed her contract with Mareck and she will be free. But will have lost all of her memories?

Anea is a musician who steals music the musicians have not yet received so that she can practice it ahead of time. Constant testing keeps her on edge; she fears she is not good enough, that she won’t pass the next test. A failed test would force her to leave . . . and they would keep her violin.

When Eri discovers that her music brings back a memory, the two make a plan to escape to freedom. But Anea will need her violin and Eri will need her memories. Together can they find a way?

=========

This short story, winner of the LeVar Burton Reads podcast contest, speaks to the intrinsic and incalculable value of memories and friendship. Eri realizes the high cost she pays for opening the truth-requiring locks, but she has no other options if she is to fulfill her contract and gain her freedom.

The unexpected discovery that music may help Eri reclaim the memories of her past puts Anea in a position to bargain for what she wants even as it uplifts the role of music in the telling of the tale. It speaks to friendship, to working together, to placing the needs of another above your own.

The poignancy of this beautiful story is sure to remain with the reader.

Highly recommended.

[LittlePiscesReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and heartbreaking

[Dodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Truth by AnaMaria Curtis

This short story was born when Tor.com held a contest. This was such a beautiful story. Would you give up your memory for your freedom. Who and where you came from, is it important enough for you to say no. What would you be willing to give up, your memory of your first kiss, the memories of your kids, the melody of your favorite song. When would the cost be too much.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The melody makes Eri more melancholy than ever. The memories don’t hurt anymore, not really. It’s their absence that hurts. When she tries to remember what she ate in prison. When she tries to tell herself a story from her youth and finds halfway through that she cannot recollect... There will be something left after she finishes the remaining boxes, but not much.

“How much have you lost?” the musician asks quietly.

“Too much.”

Everything is emptiness.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nej men helt fantastisk.Typiskt sån story man kommer minnas hela livet.

[SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a short story there is a lot of deep stuff going on rather quickly. Eri is a Lock Breaker which means she can open a lock by telling it a truth. She can never use that truth again and looses all memory of it. Ariea plays a violin which she claims anchors her. But her relation with the instrument is a give and take, she claims the violin tends to take more. Eri finds out that Ariea's music can restore a missing memory. They plan to run away when their ship docks but Eri has so many locks to break that she has lost herself by loosing most of her memories. Fore seeing this, she has left herself a note with steps how to get the violin to Ariea (who she no longer remembers). The story ends with Ariea beginning to play music to Eri but there is so much left up to the readers imagination. I gave the story four stars because it is so imaginative.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very well done, original story. The main character Eri must give up her memories in order to gain her freedom and the more memories that are stripped away, the more of herself she loses. When she meets Anea, she discovers that there may be a way to regain her lost memories.

In the real world, the magic of music and its link to memories has been shown to have real power. Just look up some videos of music and dementia patients. Musical memories are strong, and this author has taken this concept to the next level.

Eri strikes a bargain, but in order to fulfil both her lock-breaker contract and her promise to Anea she must give up her final truths. The ending is sweet and allows the reader to write their own conclusion to the story. Well written and well worth the read!

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

AnaMaria Curtis didn’t dump a “Morris the Explainer” into her short story, a character that explains the world of that story or novel to us. Good. Morris is clunky; the author acting as Morris is clunkier still. But she also didn’t just drop us in either, with strangely named worlds and names that sound like a AI fantasy writer created them. She drops bits here and there, and builds a world. With barely any information, you know exactly where you are and what kind of world you are dealing with. She adds memorable characters, a believable plot, an almost claustrophobic setting (a ship, of some sort), and this, being fantasy, some interesting magic involving truth (hence the title) and music. I’m sure there is much, much more here, and she definitely left us wanting more.

[Ambrose Malles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet, the story of the lock-picker who has to pick locks by giving up truths they've never told anyone immediately hooks you.

I find it interesting that the premise of the story relies on the fact that losing yourself is a bad thing and that a sense of self is what makes a person who they are. I think it would be even more fascinating to incorporate this gimmick into a world that has an entire series backed behind it. Some people might want to change who they are and use lock-picking to clean their slate. If you lost all the memories that mattered, would you mold into the same person? How similar would you be to that forgotten self?

Read primarily for: Tor short story challenge 2025.

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded up

Listened via LeVar Burton Reads podcast.

The story was okay, but it did have me stressing near the end so I had to round up. It earned that, at least. I do think that the knowledge that it was the contest winner set my expectations a bit high, and that set the bar too high, I think. Perhaps it would've been a solid 3 stars if I went into the story blindly.

Nevertheless, the story really needed higher stakes. The writer gestures to stakes and alludes to the type of society well enough, but I really needed that extra punch of fear to remain engaged in the story early on.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sin duda, uno de los relatos de Crononauta que más he disfrutado hasta el momento.

Lo primero que he hecho al terminarlo ha sido ir corriendo a comprobar si esta autora tiene algo publicado es castellano pero nada, ojalá y la editorial se anime a traérnosla porque este relato ha sido maravilloso.

Me parece increíble como en tan pocas páginas se puede hacer y conseguir tanto. Me he quedado con unas ganas impresionantes de conocer más de ese mundo y de saber a ciencia cierta que todo termina bien para nuestras dos protagonistas.

Como trata el tema del olvido, de que sin recuerdos dejamos de ser nosotros, me ha tocado muchísimo.