Tillie lived in a tree high above the ground. She was a Tillandsia, better known as an “air plant”. She consisted of a few dozen narrow, pointed leaves each about three inches long. Like all Tillandsias, she was destined to produce one and only one striking pink flower during her lifetime. She had spent her entire existence in the same notch of the same tree. As an “air plant”, Tillie had roots but their only purpose was to anchor her to her tree and so she had to absorb water into her leaves from moisture in the air or from rain. There was just enough humidity and periodic precipitation on her tropical island for her to be generally comfortable. There were stretches where it got a little too dry for her liking and definitely times when persistent rains puffed her up with too much water.