Unity Instant

The built a network of hollowed-out bamboo pipes, a vertical veins system running from the canopy to the soil.

They were neighbors, but they were not one. The Leaf-Watchers looked down on the "mud-stained" Root-Tenders, and the Root-Tenders resented the "flighty" Leaf-Watchers. The Trunk-Keepers simply stayed in the middle, closing their shutters to the bickering. The built a network of hollowed-out bamboo pipes,

One summer, the Great Drought hit. For months, not a single drop of rain fell. The Trunk-Keepers simply stayed in the middle, closing

Should we focus a future story on a like "sacrifice," or Should we focus a future story on a

But soon, the dry heat caused the wood to shrink. The homes began to crack. Without the Root-Tenders’ moisture to keep the bark supple, the very stairs and halls of the village began to crumble.

The were the first to suffer. Without rain, their high gardens withered. They cried out for water, but the Root-Tenders, bitter from years of being ignored, hoarded the deep-well reserves for themselves. "You have the sun," the Root-Tenders shouted up. "Drink that."

By the time the autumn rains finally arrived, the village had changed. The gates between the levels were gone. They realized that unity wasn't about everyone doing the same job—it was about realizing that no matter how high or low you lived, you were all nourished by the same sap.