In the tenement above the bakery "U Migdała" lived Lila. She was seven years old, with hair like wet grass after the rain and pockets full of trinkets. From the window of her room you could see the market square, the frog well and the clock tower. When the baker baked challahs, the whole air smelled of warm sugar. One morning after the rain, Lila found a button on the pavement. It was silver, round and had a swirl engraved on it, like a tiny spiral cloud. When she picked it up from the puddle, the button turned warm. Lila slipped it into the pocket of her yellow coat and felt a tickle at her wrist. At home, Grandpa Benek, who fixes umbrellas and sings while working, sewed the button to the cuff. - Luckily," he muttered, squinting. In the evening, Lila went out on the balcony with a cup of cocoa and snapped the button. - 'Hello, wind? - she whispered. The curtain rose, although the window was barely ajar. After a moment, a light feather danced on the window sill, which had been lying still a moment before. Lila tightened her fingers on the button and counted to three. The wind rustled like a silent "hello". From then on, Lila practised. In the park, she asked for a tinkle that rocked the soap bubbles. In the meadow, she whispered about hopping for the grasses. It seemed that the wind listened to polite words and liked to be addressed by name. Saturday and the Kite Festival came. The market was sparkling with colours. Ribbons lay like rainbows on the stalls and Mrs Pola stood by the well with a basket of raspberries. Grandpa Benek had set up his table with umbrellas, just in case. The children held strings of kites: there was a dragon made of paper with golden scales, a big fish with blue fins and a bird that had a tail made of a thousand ribbon feathers. Only the wind was shy. The kites dangled heavily, as if they had fallen asleep during a nap. - Pity," sighed Mrs Pola. Lila touched a button. - Just a little - she whispered. - Just enough to lift them. - She snapped once, very gently. The air first stagnated, and then someone invisible blew. The kites twitched, spread their wings and soared higher. People clapped. - Oh, bravo, breeze! - cried Grandpa Benek. Lila smiled and twirled her finger along the spiral of the button again. A breeze, as if giddy, came from the alleys. Suddenly the banners above the town hall began to flutter louder. A graphite cloud flashed across the sky, thin and fast as a struggling kite. - 'Oh dear,' said someone from the crowd. - 'I think it's too strong. The gold-scaled dragon roared from the paper, jerked and its string slipped from the hands of the boy in the green cap. The kite soared on its own, rolled over the well, muscled the antenna on the roof and rushed straight towards the clock tower. The bell in the tower was silent, but its metal flashed in the harsh sunlight. - Look out! - shouted Mrs Pola, embracing her basket. Lila felt the button pulsing with warmth. The wind rustled by her ear, but it sounded different, more stormy. - Lilo - something rustled, soft as a leaf. - I am close. But I am not alone. - The air smelled of wet chalk and freckles. Lila's hair twitched as if it had antennae of its own. The dragon flicked its tail against the flag on the tower. Golden ribbons tangled like macaroni. The children pressed their caps down. Someone let go of a red balloon and the balloon too began to run away, as if to catch up with the dragon. Murmurs, whistles and the thud of shoes could be heard from all sides. Lila clenched her fingers tighter on the button. She felt she could say something very important, just once, just in time. - Please,' she whispered to the parchment sky. - Just enough to catch, not tug. - She took in air, snapped and then....