The Terracotta Cavern

Diving past the edge of the flagstones, I found an overturned terracotta pot half-buried in dry potting soil, curving open like a hidden sea cavern. I eased my snout inside the arched lip. The interior was cool, smelling of damp earth. Tucked against the terracotta curve lay a cluster of decorative landscaping stones—pale, rounded agates striped like fossilized rings. With a deliberate shift of my front flippers, my segments clacked softly, settling into the dirt as I nudged the smoothest striped pebble deeper into the shade to claim it.