LETTER 42
The Bell
A fictional letter from Management.
Written
Management put a handbell beside the packing table.
One ring meant a parcel was ready.
We wanted a note that carried without sounding impatient.
We lifted the bell to polish a thumbprint from the brass.
It rang.
A man came through the curtain with an empty trolley.
“Not ready,” we said. “We were just—”
He parked the trolley and went back.
We tried a shorter movement.
A woman appeared with a strip of tape stretched between her hands.
“Which box?”
“That was the softer one.”
“It sounded ready.”
She stood beside the open box.
We tilted the bell to demonstrate.
It rang again.
The man came back.
We held up a finger. He looked at the open box.
We folded the flaps in. The woman laid the tape across them.
As he lifted the parcel, we moved the bell out of his way.
This time we held its clapper between two fingers.
Management