Mine to Keep
It hums faintly, as if it remembers sound.
There’s a card tucked beneath the carriage. One line only, printed on thick stock:
For my writer.
No signature.
I stand there for a long time, card in one hand, the other resting lightly on the smooth edge of the keys. The word my hits somewhere behind my ribs and lingers there, neither threat nor comfort—just ownership dressed as admiration.
It’s beautiful, objectively. Antique stores would list it for more than I could afford; collectors would fight for one in this condition. Whoever sent it knows exactly what beauty does when it’s aimed at you: it disarms before it explains itself.