The little parcel

Here’s a tiny one for you. It might be worth telling, I can’t tell.

I was wandering to the post office, a package swinging in my hand. A snug, fine, perfect little parcel: wrapped-up neat, stamp set straight, handwritten address just so.

It struck me suddenly: how splendid, how simple and splendid, to walk with something swinging in your hand. A cap, a suitcase, or the patient weight of a book perhaps… maybe some sweets (in one of those small, slightly waxy, brown paper bags). Better yet, another hand: the fingers, the palm, the touch of a friend or lover.

And I thought – and I thought – and I decided, without thinking: this was a moment worth writing about. So here we are.

Fritz Kocher