Mailbox Perimeter Check

The morning sun was cutting clean across the apartment building lobby, and the tall wall of brushed metal mailboxes was impossible to pass up. I darted across the cool terrazzo tiles and grabbed the lip of unit 104's open mail slot, hauling myself up tier by tier. Right at eye level on box 208, a tiny brass key had been left dangling in the keyhole with a colorful blue paper tag fluttering in the draft. I crouched on the narrow steel ledge, braced my boots against the seam, and gave the brass head a steady push until the tumblers gave a muffled, satisfying click. Safe and sound.