Above the bakery "U Mamy", in the town of Cherry Hill, lived Zosia. Every morning she was woken by the smell of cinnamon and the sweet purring of a brindle cat named Pączek. From her window, she could see the market square, where pigeons pranced on the cobbled pavements, and the green belt of the forest, which whispered with leaves whenever the wind blew. Zosia liked to collect things that looked ordinary but had something unusual about them: feathers that sparkled in the sun, pebbles as smooth as glass, and seeds she didn't know. Around her neck she wore a key shaped like a raindrop. She had received it from Grandpa in a small box lined with cotton wool. Grandpa then winked at her and said: "Opening something good starts with a smile, Zosia". So Zosia smiled a lot, just in case. One day, just after a warm rain, Grandpa brought her something else - a paper bag with the inscription: "Sow when you hear the rain, though the sun is in the sky. Water with laughter." Inside lay a single, tiny seed. It was as bright as a drop of milk. That afternoon, the sun was shining like a golden ball and the drops on the gutters were still dripping. "I think you can hear the rain a little, Pod," whispered Zosia. She poured soil into the largest pot on the windowsill and put in a seed. The bud, very serious, sat like a guard by the pot. Zosia watered the plant with a watering can and... giggled out loud, because that's what it said on the bag. The laughter rolled down the window sill like a ball, and Pod moved his moustache as if it had been given to him too. In the evening, as Mum was closing the bakery and the sky was turning soft and peachy, the pot quietly trembled. A silvery leaf emerged from the dark earth. It was not ordinary. Tiny dewdrops appeared on its veins and formed words. Zosia leaned in so close that the tips of her braids touched the windowsill. On a leaf flicked: "Knock three times". "Knock?" - she repeated in a whisper. The bud looked at her with eyes as round as buttons and nodded as if to say, "Go on!". Zosia straightened her finger and knocked on the pot: one, two, three. The ground moved like a quilt under which someone is just getting up. From the rhizomes and petioles, thin strips began to twirl, weaving together like ribbons. In an instant, a tiny portal sprang up in front of Zosia - a door braided with leaves. It had a handle made of a loop of grass and a keyhole in the shape of a drop... exactly like the key around Zosia's neck. The room suddenly became very quiet. Even the clock above the table stopped ticking, as if it had also held its breath. Zosia felt her heart do a hop-hop and butterflies draw figure eights in her stomach. The smell of raspberries and warm bread danced in the air. Somewhere very close by something rang, like spoons clattering against the rims of teacups. "You see that, Pod?" - Susan touched the leafy door gently. They were cool and smooth. Doughnut put his paw on her knee and murmured quietly, which meant roughly: "Careful, but brave." Zosia undid her chain and took the drop-shaped key. It fit. When she put it to the hole, the leaves rustled like a quiet rain shower on a summer day. From behind the door came a mischievous giggle and a rustling sound like when the blowflies fly over a meadow. Shadows appeared on the wall - they looked like small silhouettes with umbrellas made of leaves. One of them waved to Zosia. "Hello?" - she said cautiously. She was answered by a tiny "hello" and the sound of a bell, as if someone was welcoming a visitor. At the same moment, the door flicked brighter and the dewdrops on the leaf formed words again: "Don't be late". Zosia tightened her fingers on the key. Pod climbed onto the windowsill and sat down next to her, ready to jump. The world outside the window dimmed and the light behind the leaves became warmer and seemingly closer. Soft, cheerful footsteps could be heard approaching the door. "Once..." - whispered Zosia, taking a breath. "Two..." - Pod moved his ears and set his moustache. Zosia slowly began to turn the key, and then on the other side someone knocked in reply: one... two....