Tunnel Advance

I pushed forward from the porcelain tile platform on elbows and knees. The glazed clay conduit curved slightly to the left, angling upward toward daylight. Three paces ahead, the pipe narrowed where a severed root had penetrated an expansion joint. I unclipped the aluminum pull-tab and used its sharp notched edge to saw through the fibrous strands until the obstruction snapped free. Sunlight filtered down through an open curb cut ahead. The exit is clear.