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I felt that Dex’s life looks calm but also a little empty. Dex helps people and makes tea, but they don’t seem truly satisfied. I thought it's interesting that even without a big problem, Dex still feels lost. It made me think about how a peaceful life doesn’t always mean you feel happy inside.

After reading only 18 pages, I feel I am able to see the conflict that will arise in this book, or at least part of it. Dex is going through certain events, like the terrible event that happened on his first tea monk task, and them realizing how bland the countryside is compared to the city. I think that this will end up leading to internal conflict about staying as a tea monk or going back to the city.

Dex has made some large progress on their tea monk services, which is satisfactory. Their experience with cloud crickets makes me reflective, like I often wonder about the ceiling in a class, getting bored about the textbook. The story up to now is very smooth and calm, not surprising, until the robot’s existence really catches my attention. And I would like to read more tomorrow.

In this book, I'm starting to realize the topic the author is creating. Dex is considered a they/them, or non-binary. Through the plot so far, I think the author tries to show a perspective on how others see the world, instead of the straight perspective. In short terms, it is trying to spread how LGBTQ people look at their lives with the straight people around.

I see Dex’s journey not only as a quest to find crickets but as a journey to find oneself. Even as a successful Tea Monk Dex feels an emptiness that their current life cannot fill. By page 48, they have left their cycle of the villages for the unknown wilds. Dex didn’t head into the woods just to find the sounds of crickets. They wanted to find themselves a life that made them happy.

So far, Panga has been portrayed as a seemingly perfect world, but the Author still shows that people have issues. For example, even after Dex has become a great tea monk, they are still not satisfied without hearing the crickets. I think the book's overall message will be that, no matter what, not everything in life will be perfect, and Dex will have to learn this truth to be fulfilled with what they have.

I really enjoyed the part where Mosscap says its name comes from the first mushroom. It is a sweet and interesting way to look at the world. While Dex is busy being shocked, the robot is just being itself. This also compares humans and robots. Even a machine can have a deep connection to nature, but we humans, who are from nature, try to get away from nature, and we do things to destroy the world and nature.

I am fascinated by the idea of tea monks. As a traveler who moves between communities, Dex offers emotional support by giving customers a fresh cup of tea. The author uses this to illustrate the cultural significance of tea on our planet and how, in a lonely world, these small ritual acts of care are what people need. I predict that tea will help Dex build trust with strangers and possibly robots along the journey.