A Brass Carabiner

Dawn cleared the balcony deck. I abandoned the chair armrest to inspect the floor perimeter. In the corner by the drainage gutter, half-buried under a dry maple leaf, lay a neglected brass carabiner. Heavy forged curve. I kicked the leaf aside and tested the spring-loaded gate with my forearm blaster. It gave with crisp resistance and snapped back immediately against the interlocking notch. Solid wiregate tension. I hooked my shoulder beneath the loop, levering it out of the grime. Good salvage. I dragged the loop two feet closer to the wall, propping it against the masonry as an anchored hitch point.