Nela lived above her grandfather's clock shop. The shop was as long as a wagon and full of a warm, wooden noise. Whenever someone opened the door, hundreds of hands moved at once, like cane sticks in the wind. It smelled of polish, pears from the cooker and a bit of watch oil. A huge cuckoo clock hung on the back wall. On the shelves stood alarm clocks, pendulums and quiet, serious pocket watches. A sign with a painted gold spring hung above the counter, and by the display case lay the soft cushion on which Nela's cat, Bubble, always slept. He was brindle like tree bark and purring in such a way that you could feel it in your lap. One afternoon the wind knocked on the signboard, ringing softly. Grandfather put on his long woollen coat, slipped his cap over his ears and said: - Nelu, I'm going to fetch Mrs Lucia her repaired clock. I'll be right back. Stay a while and watch the shop. Don't sell anything, just watch. - 'Okay, Grandpa,' nodded Nela, and Bubble stretched like an eraser in a pencil and blinked in agreement. When the door closed behind Grandpa, all that was left in the shop was a ticking. One tick, another yes, a third tick, like feet on the stairs. Nela sat down on a stool and started swinging her legs. Then she saw something she hadn't noticed before. In the lowest display case, on a velvet cushion, lay a small silver pocket watch. It did not have an ordinary dial. It had a glass as blue as a sheet of ice, and instead of numerals, tiny dots shone on it, like stars. The watch did not tick like the others. It listened like this: tick... tick... tick... like a silent heart. - How beautiful - whispered Nela. - I don't remember you. - Bubble crunched the air like a raisin and hopped onto the counter. He curled up next to the display case and put his ear to it, as if he wanted to listen too. Outside the window, the sun had slipped between the clouds. The hands of the huge clock on the wall came as close as if they wanted to hug each other... and then suddenly stopped. Quietly. As if someone had stopped them with a finger. Nela froze. And then something even stranger happened. All the clocks, one by one, stopped ticking. The alarm clocks closed their eyes, the cuckoo didn't jump, and the pendulums stopped in mid-step. A soft silence fell over the shop, the kind that lays on your shoulders like a jumper. - A bubble? - whispered Nela. The cat lifted its tail and teased its whiskers. A tiny ... poof came from the blue watch. Like a soap bubble that burst in the middle. The glass fogged up from the inside. A small nose was drawn on the steam, then two dots - eyes. The watch warmed up so that the blue turned almost white. Nela leaned closer. Something touched the glass from the inside with the tip of a... paw? - Oh my," she said completely quietly. It crackled like a spark. The lid of the watch opened of its own accord. A snout emerged from inside. It was the muzzle of a dragon, but so tiny that it would fit into a cocoa cup. It had scales the colour of a morning cloud, with light shining through, and two cones as thin as pencil lines. He smeared his tongue, snorted the tip of his smoke and sneezed silvery in Nela's direction. - Dog! - Bubble was indignant, but immediately softened as the dragon put a paw on his nose and let off a circle of steam. The circle smelled of cream ice cream, just a little bit of winter. - Hi... - Nela smiled. - What's your name? The dragon thought for a moment. He let out three glittering circles: one shaped like a blob, one shaped like a star, the third like a tiny flame. Then he tapped the third one with his claw. - Sparkle - Nela guessed right away. - Fits. Sparkle spread his muzzle in a wide grin. The watch purred and its chain trembled like a string. The dragon's tiny wings spread out with a rustle of tissue paper. The dragon leapt from the watch and sat on Nela's shoulder. It was light, as if it was made of warm air. - But... why had everything stopped? - Nela looked around the shop. - Where is the ticking? Sparkle lifted her nose and drew in the air, as if searching for a scent that could not be seen. Then she pointed with her claw into the depths of the shop, where there was a small storeroom behind the heavy curtains. She grunted quietly and looked meaningfully at Nela. - Over there? - Nela nodded her head. - Good. Let's go. The floor squeaked as she put her feet between the clocks. Bubble walked first, his tail wagging like an exclamation mark. The curtains were thick, navy blue, with embroidered stars. Behind them was a narrow corridor that Nela rarely used. On the left stood a cupboard with boxes full of springs, on the right a row of empty shield frames. At the end of the corridor was a wall. Nela knew that there had once been a window there, but her grandfather had bricked it up. Only that now, in the middle of this wall, something had changed. The outline of a door gleamed in the wall. They were as thin as a bookmark and as tall as Nela's fingers. They had no handle. Just a star-shaped keyhole. Someone had drawn tiny swirling dots around it that looked like dust in a sunbeam. Only there was no sun here, and the dots were still spinning slowly. - 'I don't remember that,' whispered Nela, and she shuddered. - 'Grandpa didn't say there was a door here. Sparkle leaned into her ear and blew so that Nela's neck was no longer cold. The dragon touched the watch chain and it lit up like a glowing thread. Stars twinkled in the blue glass that Nela still held in her hand. - Do you think it's... a key? - She asked, looking at the watch. Spark nodded three times, very seriously. Bubble took a step back and wagged his tail. From behind the thin door came a quiet knock, knock, knock. As quiet as if someone had knocked with a glove. Nela froze, and her heart did a hop! all the way to her chin. - Hello? - she said, though she herself did not know to whom. No one answered. Only again: knock. And again: knock, knock. Then everything fell silent. Even the wind behind the glass stopped rustling the signboard. Nela tightened her fingers on the watch. The shiny chain warmed her hand. Sparkle dragged her paw along the edge of the star in the lock. The edge blinked like a snowflake in the sun. - 'I'll just have a look,' muttered Nela to Bubble, more to make it sound braver than it really was, as she had butterflies in her stomach. - And we'll be right back. Okay? The cat made a mrrr that meant roughly: I'll go next, but you go first. Nela lifted her watch. The blue glass matched the star shape of the lock as if they were made for each other. Just before she touched it, something rustled beneath the floor, as if a hidden stream of time was awakening. The dots around the door accelerated a whirr. - Ready? - She whispered to Spark. The dragon nodded and made a bell-like sound. Nela took a breath, touched the lock with her watch and....