Lila kicks her bright red ball across the garden. It bounces on the grass and rolls straight into the big bush.
She walks to the edge and peers inside, wondering where it went.
Lila reaches her arm into the bush. She stretches and stretches, but her fingers can't find the ball. A twig snaps against her knuckles.
Lila gets down on her hands and knees and crawls closer. She pushes through the leaves and reaches deeper.
Something light bumps against her elbow. She freezes.
Lila gasps and slowly pulls her hand back. A tiny butterfly, the color of dandelion petals, flutters up from between her fingers.
It circles once in the air, then drifts down toward her shoe.
The butterfly lands on her shoe and opens its wings wide. She sits very still in the warm sun.
She watches it rest, her breath held soft and slow.
The butterfly lifts off and floats toward the flowers. Lila smiles.