The Landlord

**BUILDING MANAGEMENT: LOST AND FOUND** *First night. Front desk. Contents logged.* 1. Keys, left on the counter. Owner came back for them. Some people do. 2. One glove. The other hand has moved on. 3. Umbrella. Never opened. It did not rain. It might. 4. Moving box, labelled "back soon." Taped shut. Waiting politely. 5. Receipt for a very expensive dinner, dated tonight. Someone celebrated early. 6. Sticky note: "sell at 2x." Found on the elevator button. The elevator went up anyway. 7. Parcel for 4B. Unsigned. Nobody has seen 4B in weeks. We keep the lights on there. 8. Sunglasses, worn indoors. The lobby is not that bright. We checked. The hallways are quiet now. The heating is on. The doors still open both ways. Unclaimed items go back to the building, like unpaid rent.

**NOTICE TO ALL TENANTS** A number of you moved out tonight. All at once. The elevator has asked for a moment. Moving boxes are stacked on the Floor 3 landing. Please clear them by morning. The landing is for passing through, not for deciding. Keys go in the drop slot by the front door. Not under the mat. The mat has seen enough. Forwarding addresses are not kept. The building only remembers who stayed. The rent jar in the basement does not shrink when people leave. Their share stays in it, with the tenants still inside. Nobody counts it but the jar. One box on the landing is labelled 4B. Nobody has claimed it. It will wait. Boxes are patient. So are we. Step eleven creaked twice tonight. Both times going up. Hallway lights stay on. The boiler is running. Doors lock at the usual hour. Thank you to everyone who carried something down. Thank you to everyone who didn't. — Building Management

**LOBBY NOTICE** **Subject: Quiet Hours Are Now in Effect** Tenants, We are aware the building's value dropped tonight. We are also aware of the knocking on the boiler room door. Both have been noted. Some facts. The boiler valves opened twice tonight. Each time, they bought. Each time, they burned what they bought. This is what valves do. They are not taking requests. A floor order sits in the sub-basement. If the building sinks further, it opens by itself. No one needs to go down there. Please do not go down there. The rent jar is locked on a shelf until tomorrow. Nobody can open it early. This includes Management. We checked. Knocking does not change the date. Noise complaints will be logged. Logs are kept. Logs are read, eventually. The porch light at 4B is still on. We do not know why. We have decided not to ask. Reminder: rent goes to whoever is still here when the jar opens. — Building Management

**BUILDING MANAGEMENT // NIGHT LOG** Doors opened at dusk. The building was ready. Tenants arrived through the evening. Many of them. The front door logged each one. It does not forget faces. The hallways were loud for a while. Someone propped open the stairwell. Someone else closed it. Thank you. Before midnight, many left. The front door logged each one again. Same faces, going the other way. No complaints filed. The elevator went down faster than it came up. Maintenance has been notified. Maintenance is also me. The boiler in the basement was fed twice to keep the heat on. It is warm now. It was cold for a moment. Nobody froze. Washer 2 is still out of order. A sign has been posted. The sign is also out of order. Mailbox 4B is still full. The light in 4B never went off. Whoever you are, I see you. Get some sleep. The halls are quiet now. The pipes are ticking. This is normal. Rent day comes tomorrow. The jar in the basement is locked. It is for whoever is still here when the lock opens. **END LOG.**