Perusina, Perusino, and Franz in Chulucanas

The first jug broke before Perusina could even shout "Look out!"

It fell from the roof of a mud house, hit the path squarely, and burst into a hundred black shards. Perusino jumped back. Franz darted under a market stall and re-emerged with a lime in his mouth.

"It was already on the ground," he claimed.

Above them, there was another clatter. A second jug rolled over the roof.

"Run!" Perusina called out.

They raced through the narrow alley. The jug hit the ground behind them, bounced off a wall, and broke. A bright bird with widely spread wings gleamed on one shard.

At the end of the alley stood a handcart. On it lay six large ceramic vessels, tied with a rope. A boy desperately tugged at the brake.

"The cart belongs to my grandmother! It was just in the yard!"

Then the rope snapped. The cart began to move.

It rolled slowly at first, then faster and faster down the sloping path. Directly in front of it, people jostled between market stalls, baskets, and tables.

Perusino ran. "I'll take the left side!"

Perusina jumped over the shards and caught up on the right. Franz raced after, so fast that he almost tripped over his own bag.

The cart crashed against a wooden box. Mangoes flew through the air. One landed on Perusino's head.

"Later!" Perusina shouted.

Ahead of them, the path curved sharply. Beyond it lay the potters' firing yard. In its center, an open oven glowed.

"If the cart goes straight, it'll land in the fire!" the boy gasped.

Perusino jumped onto the rear axle. The cart swayed. A vessel came loose and tilted dangerously to the side. Perusina grabbed it at the last moment.

"The brake!"

"Broken!"

Franz jumped onto the cart, rummaged in his bag, and pulled out a lime, a wooden spoon, and finally a leather strap.

"What do you have a spoon for?" Perusino called out.

"For emergencies!"

"This is an emergency!"

"But not a soup emergency!"

Perusina snatched the leather strap from Franz's paw. Together, they wrapped it around the axle. The strap tightened, smoked, and snapped.

Twenty more meters to the oven. Perusina grabbed a long wooden pole and pushed it between the spokes. The pole broke, but the cart turned. It shot past the oven, broke through a curtain of fabric sheets, and sped into a mound of sand.

A vessel wobbled. Everyone held their breath. It stayed upright.

An older woman came running out of the firing house. Her hands were black with soot. The boy relievedly hugged her.

"The vessels are for the exhibition tonight," she said. "But someone untied the cart."

Perusina examined the rope. "Not untied. Cut."

Black clay adhered to the cut.

Franz sniffed at it and followed dark smudges behind the oven to a low door. Something was moving behind it.

Perusino opened the door. A man with a veiled face pushed it open, jumped over a pile of wood, and ran off. He carried a flat clay bowl under his arm.

"Stop!" Perusina called out.

The fugitive threw a sack. Fine soot filled the air. Perusino coughed, Franz sneezed, and Perusina could barely see anything.

But bright footprints appeared on the ground. The man had walked through spilled clay.

They followed the tracks between the workshops. The fugitive climbed onto a roof, jumped onto a balcony, and continued running over the mud bricks.

Perusino pulled over a ladder. Perusina climbed up. Franz clung to her bag.

On the next roof, a beam gave way. The man lost his balance. The bowl flew from his hands.

Perusina lunged forward and caught it.

The man jumped down and disappeared among the market stalls. Only a black cloth remained hanging on a nail.

On the rescued bowl was the same bird as on the broken jugs. The pattern wasn't simply painted on: parts of the surface had been protected, while smoke darkened other areas. This is how the bright image emerged from the black.

The grandmother turned the bowl over. On the underside was a second sign: a black swirl, traversed by three narrow lines.

"This sign does not belong to my work," she said softly.

Franz picked up his lost lime. Underneath it lay a piece of black fabric. The same swirl was embroidered on it.

"He didn't want the bowl," Perusina said. "He wanted the sign underneath."

From a distance, a shrill whistle sounded. Then a second one responded.

And somewhere behind the houses, another heavily laden ceramic cart began to move.