"When you pull this off," he agreed."You'll need supplies during construction.Building materials for the expanded treehouse, glass for windows—"
"Stained Glass Hosta," Wren said."It's a plant.It should grow stained glass panels."
Mei-Lin laughed."Of course it is.Why wouldn't there be a stained glass plant?"
"I'll provide materials as needed," Zhao Wei continued."Consider it an investment.And Wren?"His expression was serious."This will change how people see you.What you're attempting...if you succeed, you won't just be 'the pun farm girl' anymore.You'll be a force."
"Good," Wren said simply.
That night, she refined her plans and drew detailed sketches.Listed seeds she'd need and calculated timing.
Montezuma Cypress for the main pillars.Bridge Willow for access ramps.Ice plants for cold storage.Stained Glass Hosta for windows.And dozens of other plants for the gardens, the decorations, the infrastructure.
She fell asleep with her journal open, ink-stained fingers, and that wild smile still on her face.
***
WORD HAD SPREAD OVERNIGHT.When Wren rode out to her property at dawn with her dandelions, a small crowd had gathered at the town walls to watch.
Jin rode with her, ostensibly for safety, but she suspected it was also curiosity.
"People are talking," he said.
"Let them talk."
"They think you're..."He paused, choosing words carefully.
"Crazy?Broken?In denial?"She smiled."Good.Let them think that."
He grinned.“That’s my girl.”
At her property, she stood in the center of the destruction and pulled out her first seeds.Montezuma Cypress.She had dozens of them, saved from the original collection and never used.
She planted them in a careful pattern spread across the ten acres, positioned to create natural lanes for migration flow.Each one was placed with intention.Then she stood back.
"Grow."
Magic surged through her, stronger than she'd ever pushed before.Not just one plant, but multiple, simultaneously, coordinated.
The seeds split.Trunks erupted from the ground, thick as houses, rising fast.Branches spread.Roots anchored deep.Within an hour, massive Montezuma Cypress trees stood across her property, each one thirty feet tall and still growing.
From the town walls, she heard exclamations.Pointing.Confusion.
She just smiled and kept working.
The trees grew taller.Forty feet.Fifty.Sixty.Their branches began to reach toward each other, following her mental guidance.Interweaving and creating the foundation of a platform.It took days, but it was going well.
People rode out to watch.Merchants, curious townsfolk, even some of the council members."What are you building?"they asked.
"You'll see," Wren replied, covered in dirt and sweat but grinning.
"Are you alright?"they asked, concerned.
That smile."Never better."
They left shaking their heads, worried.
Jin came daily, ostensibly to check on her safety.But she caught him watching the construction with fascination.
