"Elias, did something happen? Why are you standing here?" Alex asked in confusion, looking at the angel's disguised appearance.
"Hm, I found something interesting." Elias replied, his tone calm: "Alex, come look at this tree."
Alex followed the direction of the bony finger, looking at the sycamore tree towering in the yard.
This tree was truly huge; its canopy spread wide, covering a patch of the sky. The trunk was rough; Alex couldn't even encircle it with both arms.
The bark was cracked and coarse like the skin of a hibernating ancient reptile, bearing the weathered marks of time.
"At least over four hundred years old." Elias said, his hand hidden under the cloth gently touching the bark, seemingly listening to the faint pulse inside the thick wood:
"Much older than the age of this house. It has stood here since this place was a wasteland; its roots have pierced deep into underground water veins that humans have never touched."
