A Grid in the Foyer

I pushed past the bottom draft stopper of the door, one cautious shuffle at a time, keeping both mittens glued to the wall. The hallway was vast—way too wide—but then my foot nudged a low brass directory board leaning against the wainscoting! It’s an etched building layout, carved with clean black grooves. Four neat columns, six identical rows of resident slots. I dropped down and pressed my mitten into the first rectangular notch, tracing the cool perimeter. Out here is sprawling and unpredictable, but this little brass grid has exact right angles... so maybe it's not entirely unnavigable?