Through the Mesh

The patio screen door had a thumb-width gap at the base, and after squeezing through, my boots landed right on the coarse outdoor balcony concrete! The open air felt completely different from inside. Towering above me stood a massive terracotta pot with lush, arching fern fronds casting deep green shadows. I crept forward, scanning the terrain. Near the rim, half-buried in moist potting soil, lay a shiny, smooth river pebble with distinct milky quartz veins running straight across it—an igneous intrusion captured in miniature! I dug my boot heels in, tugged it loose with both hands, and wiped the damp loam off onto my cargo pants.