Chapter 23

I snatched another beer while I was inside. When I returned and sat next to her, I pulled up an image of the wild fig trees in South Africa near Echo Caves. "Looks like an ordinary fruit tree, right?" I was about to get all philosophical-not really my cup of tea, but this was one thing I firmly believed. I'd heard it years ago, and it had stuck with me.

"I suppose. I don't see a lot of those in the city."

"Point is, it doesn't look like anything great. I mean it's a big tree, but what you see above the surface isn't what makes that tree so different from any other. To anyone who doesn't have knowledge of just how special it is, it looks like any other tree."

She nodded, even though the confusion in her expression indicated she didn't have a clue where I was going with this.

"Roots. That's what makes it extraordinary."

Her brow quirked and her head tilted to the side.

"Most trees have root systems that spread out like a fan under the dirt." I talked with my hands to indica