Monday, June 1, 2015

the basket


by nick nelson

illustrated by palomine studios





a gray morning.

albert found himself walking down a street in a strange city.

strange to himself, that is. he supposed that the people who lived in it did not find it strange.

albert was carrying a plastic basket of the sort used by shoppers in supermarkets.

the basket was blue, although albert’s experience was that such baskets were usually red or green.

he felt a bit foolish carrying it down the street, but as he did not know anybody in the city he was not too concerned.


through a series of circumstances he did not understand or remember, he was to deliver the basket to a man at number 19, of the street he was walking down.

number 19 was a red brick building, as were all the buildings in the street.

albert walked up a short flight of gray stone steps. the front door opened when he turned the doorknob.

the interior was quiet. there was a small table just inside the door but there was nothing on it, not even any flowers.

albert went up a flight of stairs and found room 2-c and knocked on its door.


after a few seconds, a man opened the door. a bald man of medium height and size.

he had a mean look on his face.

albert handed the man the basket. “terry told me to give this to you.” he told him.

the man did not reply but scowled and took the basket. then he closed the door in albert’s face.

happy to have successfully executed his commission, albert went back down the stairs and outside into the street.

what had terry called the man he delivered the basket to?

the preacher. that was it, the preacher.

as he walked back up to the street to the bus station, albert tried to remember what had been in the basket.