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Rootbound
Room to Grow · Ch.8
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Two panels. Top: Fern and Wren stand in a long, dimly lit greenhouse corridor at night; Fern faces a wooden door marked '7'. Bottom: Fern opens the door to reveal a small leafy hazel plant in a cracked clay pot inside a stone room.
A two-panel comic page. In the top panel, Fern kneels in a dimly lit brick basement or shed, looking sadly at a cracked clay pot containing a small leafy hazel plant. In the bottom panel, a close-up shows the interior of the cracked pot where thick roots are coiled tightly, while a luminous white thread of light floats from the plant toward a small window.
A two-panel comic set in a dark brick basement. In the top panel, a man holds a lantern over a woman tending a small leafy hazel plant in a clay pot. In the bottom panel, the woman looks up as a luminous golden thread rises from the plant toward a small window.
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Two panels. Top: Fern and Wren stand in a long, dimly lit greenhouse corridor at night; Fern faces a wooden door marked '7'. Bottom: Fern opens the door to reveal a small leafy hazel plant in a cracked clay pot inside a stone room.
A two-panel comic page. In the top panel, Fern kneels in a dimly lit brick basement or shed, looking sadly at a cracked clay pot containing a small leafy hazel plant. In the bottom panel, a close-up shows the interior of the cracked pot where thick roots are coiled tightly, while a luminous white thread of light floats from the plant toward a small window.
A two-panel comic set in a dark brick basement. In the top panel, a man holds a lantern over a woman tending a small leafy hazel plant in a clay pot. In the bottom panel, the woman looks up as a luminous golden thread rises from the plant toward a small window.

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← An Invitation to Autumn · Ch.7
Text Version A written companion to this chapter — for accessibility, screen readers, and search.

Wet soil leads Fern and Wren to Room Seven, where a dead gatekeeper's rescued hazel has outgrown its pot. Ida recalls the promised roadside hedge. Rather than postpone the promise with a bigger container, Fern frees the circling roots and plants the shrub beyond the garden gate. The keeper lets go, leaving the living to tend what grows. Back underground, a golden leaf rises against gravity at Room Eight.

Page 1

Two panels. Top: Fern and Wren stand in a long, dimly lit greenhouse corridor at night; Fern faces a wooden door marked '7'. Bottom: Fern opens the door to reveal a small leafy hazel plant in a cracked clay pot inside a stone room. Visible text, in reading order: Fern: It has been walking all night. Wren: Without any feet.

Page 2

A two-panel comic page. In the top panel, Fern kneels in a dimly lit brick basement or shed, looking sadly at a cracked clay pot containing a small leafy hazel plant. In the bottom panel, a close-up shows the interior of the cracked pot where thick roots are coiled tightly, while a luminous white thread of light floats from the plant toward a small window. Visible text, in reading order: Fern: The roots have nowhere to go. Wren: That pot belonged to the gatekeeper.

Page 3

A two-panel comic set in a dark brick basement. In the top panel, a man holds a lantern over a woman tending a small leafy hazel plant in a clay pot. In the bottom panel, the woman looks up as a luminous golden thread rises from the plant toward a small window. Visible text, in reading order: Wren: She wanted a hedge by the road. Fern: A little shelter for everyone.

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