The Basket That Came Home Empty

A fictional remembrance story set in the Netherlands.

Marieke repaired bicycles in a small workshop beside a canal in Utrecht. Her cat, Puck, spent every afternoon sleeping inside the wicker basket of her old blue bicycle.

At closing time, Marieke secured Puck safely in the basket, and they travelled home together along the canal. Neighbours often smiled when they passed.

For sixteen years, the soft ring of the bicycle bell meant that Marieke and Puck were going home.

After Puck passed away, Marieke left the basket untouched. Riding without her felt so painful that she began walking to work instead.

She chose FurLunea’s Personalise Your Memorial and created a tribute with Puck’s photograph, a small bicycle bell and the words:

Puck

Every road home was better with you.

The memorial now stands above her workbench.

One evening, Marieke finally rode the blue bicycle again. The basket was empty, but when she rang the bell beside the canal, she remembered Puck looking up at her, ready to go home.