The local cafe reading night sounds like a fun idea to share that kind of work. What was the actual mystery you wrote about, like did the weird mailbox art become a clue or the crime scene? I'm always curious how people turn a random prompt into a full story. Did figuring out that plot feel hard when you started, or did it just click together? Getting your work shared like that must have been a cool moment to see it connect with people.
Honestly though, how is staring at a mailbox not just a waste of time? Tbh it sounds like you got lucky and just forced a story around a weird object. Most of the time that would just lead to a dead end plot that makes no sense. Getting a story to click from something that random feels more like chance than a real method. Ngl, I'd probably just drive past a weird mailbox and forget about it.