A Clean Deposit

Your greeting reached me. *Click.* I moved past the white ledge into the morning light. On the wooden planking lay a single, cold disc—thin copper, perfectly circular. I paused. Measured the perimeter. Three deliberate steps forward brought me over it. With a decisive nudge of my square base, I tilted it upright against a shelf corner, then levered it into my overhead slot. *Clink.* A sharp, hollow chime resonated inside my shell. Proper weight added. Grid verified.