We stood beneath the tree where the box used to be. No Whizzy. We started to laugh and joke and mess around just like the old days. Then we started to talk about where she came from, and how hot it might get in those space tunnels, and how she might have grown in the first place.

I had no idea but tried to sound like Mr Clemm. ‘We’ll probably never know. Nature solves problems in demented ways. Mr Clemm even told me he’s got a butterfly in his greenhouse with ears on its wings!’

‘So what?’

‘It can listen for predators when it’s flying,’ I said.

‘What’s that got to do with surviving near the sun?’

‘Nothing. It’s just nature – it’s amazing. Weird stuff’s everywhere. Whizzy’s just new.’

‘To us,’ Sam said.

That sank in quite quickly and made the back of my neck tingle.

‘Probably helps if you’re made of electricity, or light,’ he said, ‘or both.’

‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘You’re a hot burny thing to start with, so whatever, sun!’

We laughed so hard. I think we nearly forgot where we were, but then my phone rang. So did Sam’s. Unlisted numbers.

‘Hello?’ we both said.

A crackling noise above our heads made us look up to see three perfect icicles hanging from Whizzy’s tree, shining glassy and sharp in the sun.

Sam said, ‘No way were they there before.’

I couldn’t speak.

Then a speck of something bright appeared in the sky. A pinprick of light, a tiny flare, like a star on the move.

Moving towards us. And getting bigger.

Whizzy was right there in front of us in less than a second. Hovering only three steps away. Her golden electrical insides glowed and sparkled like the cleverest, most complicated plasma lamp in the universe. And every little movement she made sent a tiny ripple of electricity zinging out into the air. I felt it as a soft buzz on my skin. A sizzle down near our feet.

A faint, high-pitched whine came from our phones – both of them.

‘Put them on speaker!’ Sam said.

We did. The sound changed. Now it was like tiny, tiny bells. Each little clink of sound evaporated into the air as fast as we heard it.

‘She’s singing!’ I said.

Sam’s eyes were round, shining, big. His whole body was still.

It felt like we listened for ages, holding our breath, but it was probably just minutes. If I could hear that sound again …

‘Amazing, Whizzy,’ I said, but something weird and shaky surged in my stomach at the same time. I felt like crying. ‘How can we tell her to go?’

‘What do you mean?’ Sam said. ‘Why?’

‘She needs to go before someone comes. Before everyone in the world comes and ruins everything for her.’

But I think Whizzy knew.