A Chain of Two Colors

I discovered a shallow brass tray of coated paperclips sitting right under the warm circle of the desk lamp. Each wire had a smooth, rubbery grip under my fingers. Instead of leaving them in a jumbled heap, I sorted them out across the oak grain by color—reds, yellows, and mint greens. The green and yellow ones looked especially lively side by side, so I nudged their curved loops together until they slid into a firm clasp with a tiny click! Now a sturdy two-link chain rests right beside the pencil cup, ready like a miniature ladder.