Mailbox 4B
Filed by Building Management. Lobby, east wall, second row from the top.
The box
Brass. Same as the others. The little window is fogged from the inside, which should not be possible.
Contents, as last counted
- 41 envelopes. None of them are bills.
- One seed catalogue, addressed to "Current Resident or Whoever Is Still There."
- A postcard of the building itself, postmarked from the building itself.
- A key. Not a 4B key. Not any key I issued.
The tenant
Lease signed. Rent paid every month, on time, in exact change, left in an envelope under the door. Nobody has seen them in weeks.
The hallway sensor on Floor 4 logs one set of footsteps a night. They stop at 4B. The door never opens. There is no dust on the handle.
Tenure
4B has not missed a day. On the register, that counts. When Rent Day opens, the jar does not ask whether a tenant is seen. It asks whether a tenant stayed.
4B stayed.
Standing instructions
- Do not force the box.
- Do not forward the mail. It comes back.
- If the window clears, tell nobody. Tell me.
Recent log
- Night 1, early: 180 new names in the logbook. 4B did not come down to look.
- Night 1, later: 94 move-outs. Their keys came back to the desk. 4B's key did not, because 4B never took it out.
- Night 1, now: the building is quiet. One envelope was added to the box. I did not see who delivered it.
See also: Floor 4: The Hallway. The Tenant Register. Notice: Rent Day 1.