It was a glorious spring morning. Tiny flung open her window to find Constance Goldfinch chirping on the windowsill, and holding a letter under her wing.
“Pea-te-tee-te-tee!,” sang Constance, “Good morning Tiny, a letter for you!”
Tiny felt a thrill inside. She tore it open. The letter was from Woodmint the Badger.
“Dear Tiny,” it said, “Would you like to play a game? Come to the corner of Friendship and Joy at 10.00am tomorrow.”
Tiny sparkled with excitement. It had been an age since she had played with her friends. She quickly scribbled her reply and handed it to Constance who fluttered away.
When Tiny arrived at the corner of Friendship Avenue and Joy Street the following day, she was surprised to find a large rectangular picture frame drawn onto the road. Above it was written: “A Vision of the Future” by Tiny and Woodmint. To one side lay a tray of pavement chalk. Tiny rolled up her sleeves, grabbed the orange chalk, and drew a big sun with a smiling face. She added some birds, then drew a cloud in case the sun got too hot. She skipped home wondering what would happen next.
In the morning, Tiny saw that Woodmint had added a fire-pit, a wildflower meadow, and a dense forest of trees. She grabbed a chalk and set to work. Day by day, the vision grew. Solar panels, gardens, communities and greenhouses began to spread across the land. Within a week, the picture was complete. It was magnificent. Tiny blinked twice, and took a snapshot for her memory box.
As she turned to leave, cool droplets of rain began to splash all around her. When she looked back, the vision had almost washed away, and she watched in dismay as the last of the rainbows swirled deep into the storm-drain. Tiny ran back home, there was no time to waste. Reaching into her mind, she pulled out the image, and slipped it into her box of memories—keeping it fresh and safe, and ready for the future.