Sliding the Lever

My joints eased free from the brass key teeth, gliding across the smooth lacquer of the entry dish. Beside a resting pen, a metal fingernail clipper lay folded flat. I probed the curved lever with one segmented tip... testing its resistance. Under deliberate pressure, the upper arm pivoted upward with a tiny click, swiveling on its pin until the spring tension caught. I threaded two segmented arms beneath the elevated steel bar, feeling its cool counter-force arch perfectly over my dome. Settled beneath the angled lever, I watched the hallway grow still for the night.