The evening after the summer rain smelled like a new book. The drops were still clinging to the leaves of the geraniums on the balcony, and the first stars were shining above the blocks. In the middle stood a cardboard rocket, painted with crayons. It had windows made of foil and the inscription: "CREW: NELA, TYMEK AND PIXIE". Nela was seven and liked to draw sky maps. Tymek was five and could push buttons as delicately as possible. Pixel was their robot. He was made of blocks, magnets and an old torch. He rode on short tracks and said: "pip, pip!" when he was happy. Something tapped quietly on the largest pot. "Plum!" - as if a pebble had fallen into a puddle. Nela and Tymek held their breath until they did. Something silver, the size of a plum, flashed between the soil and the leaves. It was not a seed or an insect. This thing had two flashing dots, like eyes. "Pip?" - Piksel asked and moved closer. The silver object warmed slightly from the heat of their hands and split the skin like a fruit. Inside was a transparent blob with a star. From the blob came a thin voice, like a gust of air in a bottle: "Base Balcony Zeta-5 detected. Looking for crew." Nela looked at Tymek. Tymek looked at Nela. They both looked at Pixel. "We... can we be the crew?" - whispered Nela. "Confirm ready," said a voice and a tiny drawer slid out in the silver seed. Lying in it were two soft bands and a sticker with a lightning bolt on it. "That's for us!" - rejoiced Tymek. Nela slipped the wristband onto her wrist. The armband glowed blue. Tymek put his on and it blinked green. Pixel got a sticker. When Nela stuck a lightning bolt on his casing, the robot glowed all the way with the torch: "Pip-pip!" "Calibration," said a voice. The bands purred like little kittens. A yellow dot lit up on their cardboard rocket, and thin dashes flashed across the balcony like torch beams. A map of the sky was laid out on the floor - with dots and short names: "Carriage", "Path of Clouds", "Crescent". "It's like a game!" - whispered Tymek. "It's like a real station," corrected Nela, but she was smiling broadly. The droll voice spoke again: "Check: wind - gentle. Heart - strong. Courage - clear. Mode: Silent Start." The pelargoniums moved their leaves as if to clap. A silver seed slipped a thin cable into a cardboard rocket and connected to it perfectly, like a block to a block. The rocket twitched, but did not fly away. Instead, something buzzed somewhere in the balustrade and... the balcony began to softly change shape. The edges of the glass trembled. Transparent wings slipped out of the railing and fused into a round dome. It was like glass, but warm to the touch. The door from the room was opened and Mum was humming in the kitchen. Nela and Timothy stood safely inside, on their balcony, only now it looked like a miniature pilot's cabin. Pixie spun around and stood by Nela's leg. In front of them, an image appeared on the glass, like a window in a window. Dark skies and bright points were visible. One point was beginning to grow. First it was like a poppy seed. Then like a grain of rice. Finally like a luminous button. "Object on approach," said a calm voice. "Activate docking in silent mode?" Nela nodded, and the armband brightened. "Confirmed," Tymek added, very seriously. Soft arrows flowed on the sky map. Three small lights blinked on the railing: white, white, blue. Pelargoniums leaned towards the light, as if sniffing the air. Tiny vapours rose from the pots; they smelled of fresh earth and rain. "Pip?" - The pixie looked up. Nela felt something tremble slightly beneath her feet, like a tram going far, but she could feel it in the floor. "Attention, Captain Nelo. Attention, button officer, Tymek," a voice called back. "Link open. Signal friendly. Someone requesting permission to enter." Three dots appeared on the glass, blinking in a rhythm: short, longer, short. "It's like a light puzzle!" - Tymek jumped up, but immediately stood up straight again as he promised to be a serious officer. "Let's answer it!" - Nela touched the screen with her finger. Her wristband beeped and sent out a flash in the same rhythm. A point in the sky took shape. It was no longer a button, but a small, round ship, the size of a large plate. It had three wings that rotated silently. Stamps shimmered on the edge, like letters they had never seen in any book. "Docking in: three... two... one..." - counted down a voice. A thin circle opened in the middle of the dome, like a smile. A cool, space-scented breeze blew in from there. The pixie stood still, like a statue. Tymek grabbed Nela's hand. The light of the ship stopped just before the glass. A shadow shimmered on its surface, as if someone inside had moved a wing or a paw. Something knocked three times: knock, knock... knock. Nela held her breath and stretched her hand towards the shimmering shape, and then the round window in the dome quietly parted and....