It had never occurred to Sara that the crepe myrtle she passed each day while leaving her apartment might speak to her; even farther from her mind was the thought that a tree, or any other plant for that matter, might feel shame. So it came as quite a surprise when the tree, fumbling over its words from nervousness, asked Sara to borrow a pair of underwear. Not one to be rude or ignore a soul in need, however, Sara acquiesced to the crepe myrtle’s plea. Per the tree’s request, she daintily placed a plain grey pair of panties on the tree’s largest root knee, which the crepe myrtle had referred to as its “lady-bark.” It was certainly the first time Sara would bequeath a pair of undies to a needy dendron, but it would not be the last.