“Do you know how a tree changes shape to grow around an obstruction?” she asked, her voice hollow. “How it develops an unnatural bent, or ugly bulges?” “I have seen these trees, yes.” “I’m wondering how misshapen I am,” she whispered. “I wonder how bent out of shape I am from these attempts to exist around some fear, instead of just growing, straight and up, as I should have.” Elias was silent for a moment. He put down the knife. “A tree cannot be ugly,” he said. “In nature, all that matters is to survive. A living tree is a good tree.”
