The rain taps on the windows like fingers on a drum. Lena holds her umbrella in hearts and Olek takes great leaps through puddles. Under a maple tree, a small library awaits them. A sign hangs above the door: "Under the Maple". It smells of paper, pears from the autumn orchard and freshly brewed tea. - Good morning! - says Mrs Hania with glasses on a chain. - I have something special for you today. She reaches into a drawer and hands Lena and Olek a linen bookmark. It is soft, with blue thread, and has a tiny silver star-shaped button at the end. - 'It's a wanderer's bookmark,' smiles Mrs Hania. - She likes to get into books that have been waiting a long time. In the children's corner lies a yellow polka dot rug. There is also a shelf as low as a bench and a striped armchair that creaks like an old bird. Lena puts down her rucksack. Olek looks around until his gaze falls on a narrow navy blue book that sticks out of a row. It has a silver corner that shines like a raindrop. - Look, Lena! - Olek touches the corner and quickly withdraws his finger. - Warm! The book plays quietly like a seashell by his ear. Lena sits down and places it on her lap. There is no title on the cover. Just a thin crack, as if someone had run a line with a pencil. - 'Maybe this bookmark fits here,' says Lena and presses the flaxen star tail against the silver corner. The button touches the metal. Click. For a second, nothing. And then the dark blue changes shade, gets deeper, like the night just before sleep. Lena opens the book. The first page is blank, but there are wet traces on the paper like drops. One drop grows, stretches and turns into a letter. Then into a second. And into a third. The letters pop like soap bubbles and float above the page. - Oh my," whispers Olek. - They are flying! The letters spin circles, connect and disconnect. They form a chain. They form an arch. They form a door. The doors are made of light and paper. They tremble like a flag in the wind. Something green shines inside. - Can you hear it? - Lena holds her breath. A soft sound comes from behind the door. As if someone is laughing very quietly and then tapping a teaspoon against a cup. Shhh. Tyk-tyk. It smells of mint and warm bread. A library cat rises up from the carpet, grey stripes on his back, pink nose. His name is Almond. He drags himself over, nudges a beech tree with his tail and hops up next to a book. His whiskers sparkle for a moment. - Mrs Hania! - calls out Olek. - Please see! But Mrs Hania is just setting up the book trolley. She waves at them from afar and gives them a wink, as if to say: "Go ahead and read". Lena looks at the door. On their edges stand tiny letters that wave: c, a, ł, o, w, i, e, k. Olek laughs in a whisper. - They are waving at us! - I think it's a passage - whispers Lena. - To some place. Behind the door something shines. You can see a patch of sky brighter than the lamps in the reading room. The clouds are low there, soft as pillows. Instead of a road there is a path made of leaves that shine like skylights. To the left stands a house made of teacups. The wonderful scent of raspberry brew evaporates from it. On the railing hangs a ribbon of stars. Someone has mussed it with a finger, as a quiet chime is heard. Almond makes a "mrr" and touches a silver button with his muzzle. The door widens and is suddenly bigger, so big that Lena and Olek could walk through it. A breeze swings their hair out. The pages of nearby books rustle, as if something is calling them to dance. - 'I'll give it a try,' says Olek and extends his hand through the bright archway. His fingers disappear just behind the line of letters and reappear again. Olek giggles. - It tickles! There it smells like after a storm. Lena feels her heart do a hop-hop. She puts her fingers on the linen tab. It is warm and trembles a little. A tiny star is visible on the button. It flashes once. A second. A third. As if counting down the time. - 'I don't think we can wait,' says Lena quietly. - The door might close. On the other side someone walks along the leafy path. Stomp, stomp, stomp - but lightly, like footsteps made of cotton wool. A shadow flits across the ribbon of stars. The little bell buzzes again. An almond lifts its paws and looks on as if enchanted. - Hello? - calls Olek towards the passage. - Is anyone there? A paper bird with its beak cut out and newspaper wings flies through the doorway. It sits down on the edge of a book, shakes small letters from its feathers and bows low. Its eyes are like two dots on a feather. - You are just in time,' he says in a thin, slightly rustling voice. - In that world everything is just beginning. But you have to be quick. The door won't stay open for a long time. At the same moment, somewhere in the depths of the library, a clock plays a tune full of soft, winding sounds. Lena and Olek look at each other. Olek squeezes her hand. Lena feels warmth and courage awakening like a ray of sunshine behind a cloud. - What if... - Lena starts, but doesn't finish. Because suddenly something else comes out from inside the door: the wind carries laughter, and with it a tiny letter that swirls like a petal. It lands in Lena's lap. On the envelope, in blue thread, someone has written: "Lena and Olek - we need you". The button on the bookmark flashes faster. The letters on the door fade for a moment, as if blinking with fatigue. The paper bird hovers and circles. - Now - it whispers. - Or the letters will fall down and you will have to wait until the next rain. The almond raises its paw and gently touches the luminous frame. A soft call comes from inside the passage, like the singing of the wind between the twigs. Lena takes a step forward, Olek beside her. Their hands intertwine more tightly. The light dances on their cheeks, and the door of glittering letters trembles slightly as Lena puts her foot just, just inside the luminous border....