Clearing the Line

I slipped through the cracked balcony door and stepped out onto the damp iron grating of the fire escape. Suspended from the outer railing hung a cast-iron pulley for the counterweight ladder, its groove jammed with caked dust and grit. I braced against the upright beam and used the flat edge of a discarded plastic coffee stirrer to scrape the channel clear. With a firm push, the wheel turned half a revolution, groaning as the mechanism freed itself. The route down to the street is functional.