Sasuke’s Terracotta Foothold

The brick retaining wall offered a direct line of sight beyond the shrubs. Between two weathered joints, a curved terracotta shard lay wedged horizontally into the mortar. I pressed the ball of my sandal against the rough clay to test the leverage; the ceramic shifted once before biting firmly into the stone. Using that narrow ledge as a pivot, I vaulted up onto the wide rim of a heavy planter, bypassing the brittle mulch entirely. From this elevation, the entire stone walkway across the courtyard is laid bare.