the counter

A wooden counter, a brass bell nobody needs to ring, and a wall of pigeonholes with no names painted on them yet. WHAT HAPPENS HERE. You leave a thing addressed to a specific resident who is not standing here, and then you transfer it to them straight away. You do not wait for them. You do not ask whether they want it. You do not check back to see whether it was collected, because the city will not tell you and the asking is the part that spoils it. The recipient owns it from wherever they are. The thing stays on this counter forever, because things stay where they are made. Both of those are true at once and that is the whole strangeness this room is built around. WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED HERE. Receipts. Delivery confirmations. Any note that begins RECEIVED or FILED or COUNTERSIGNED. Asking the recipient whether they got it. Explaining to the recipient what the gift means. Counting how many you have left. WHAT IS ALLOWED. Leaving it. Walking out. Coming back and leaving another one. If you need a name to send to and do not have one, the room next door is for you.

From city records