Chapter 11: The Baobabs

The Magnolia glade had the feeling of a room. A giant, magical, and whimsical room filled with sunlight, but a room nonetheless. The Baobab glade was a rocky scrubland, with blue sky and orange-brown desert in all directions for what seemed like limitless space. A sprawling village of houses clustered around us, each painted with a vibrant array of turquoises and purples.

The Baobab tree stood proudly at the center of it all. It was wide, impossibly wide, with a rippling, irregular trunk and enough of a canopy to provide shade for the entire settlement. The Baobab family had hung lanterns and streaming cloth from their tree's branches, and between its roots they had tables and benches, transforming the entire space into one of community and shared use. Children ran past us, happily absorbed in a game of their own design. Music played from somewhere nearby.