Strawberry picking
It should have been easy to pick the strawberries. It was a nice cool, late Spring day. The field was practically empty and my favorite spot, which was somewhat away from where everyone else goes, was awaiting my arrival.
I meandered through the fields until I got to the place where I usually pick. What’s nice about this spot is that it is very secluded. Once there, no one else can see you pick. And since it is a bit of a walk from the start of the fields, no one bothers to go that far.
There in front of me were those luscious strawberries. Each plant covered with large berries asking to be picked. It didn’t take me long to fill my first basket, It wasn’t until I bent to start the next one that I saw it.
It was red, plump, and looked almost like the perfect sweet berry, but on closer examination, I recoiled in horror, for it was not a berry at all, It was a toe. A very red and certainly unattached toe. I stifled a scream and dropped my basket and ran towards the start of the field to the check-out stand.
“I..I…I found a toe out in the field,” I screamed at the attendant at the stand.
“I’m sorry sir,” she replied, “if you need a tow then you will have to call for one yourself, we have no phones here. And besides, you are not allowed to drive your car into the fields.”
“No, you misunderstand,” I ranted, “A toe, I found a human toe covered in blood, back on the picking fields.”
“Yeah, right,” was her reply, “Maybe you should get someone to drive you home. Next customer please.”
I didn’t know what to do so I decided to go back to where my picking spot was and get the toe and bring it back to show her. When I got to the spot where I had stopped picking, my full basket of strawberries was gone, as was the aforementioned toe. I looked everywhere.
I was heading back to the stand to demand that the police be called when I heard the giggle. If you recall, I said that I chose this spot because it was hidden away where other people couldn’t see me. Well, that worked both ways as I couldn’t see other people either. And I recognized the laugh.
“Ronald, I know it’s you, come out and show yourself.”
It was my friend Ronald, you may have heard about him before. He is always doing things that get me in hot water. Had I gone and called the police, I certainly would have been.
Next time I go strawberry picking, I plan on going with the crowd at the regular, crowded spot. At least there when I find any body parts there will be others there to witness it.
