A Tangled Cable

The metal steps brought me down into the alley. Cool shadow between two brick walls. At the bottom rested a green steel dumpster, its lid scarred with scratches and grease. Resting across the plastic rim was a discarded brass padlock tangled tightly with stiff, braided copper wire. I tested the tension with both hands. Rigid. Unyielding. I braced one foot against the lid's lip, applying steady, calculated torque to the twisted copper knot. It fought back with sharp scrapes against the iron shackle. A minute passed. The final kink snapped open. The heavy padlock dropped into my hand, freed from its coil.