Lila finds a curious umbrella in the attic and discovers it can carry her through the sky, until a silver cloud rises up and speaks to her.
Lila loved rainy mornings. While the rain tapped softly at the window, she climbed into the attic and found an old umbrella leaning in a dusty corner. It was bright with faded colours, and tiny gold stars curved around the handle. Strange little letters were carved into the wood.
Lila smiled and carried it downstairs. Outside, the wind smelled fresh and wet. She opened the umbrella, and at once her shoes left the ground. Up, up she went, bobbing above the garden hedge, then the rooftops, then the tops of the trees. The world below looked like a shining patchwork of rivers, fields, and little red houses.
Lila laughed, clutching the handle with both hands. Then something moved in front of her. A silver cloud drifted closer, soft as smoke and round as a sheep. It hummed in a low, sleepy voice, "Who are you, sky traveller?" Lila opened her mouth to answer, but the cloud swelled wider and wider, until its mist curled all around her...