Ralph didn’t turn up at school that day. Not in the sky, not in the classroom and not at the bike racks when it was home time. Leo and Peg started riding home together, but she sped on ahead with some friends.

‘See you at home!’ she sang over her shoulder.

He pedalled along the edge of the gutter and replayed the promise in his mind. A week had passed. He hadn’t made any friends. Ralph was supposed to be here.

He gave up on the sky and watched the bike tyre spinning slowly. A soft breeze, the first he’d felt in Dundle, tickled the back of his neck. Then a grey feather swooped past his face. It flipped and twirled and climbed higher until it got stuck in a tree. Leo stopped. There was something further up in the tree, round and white. It looked like a balloon.

He jumped off his bike and ran to the tree. It shaded a wooden bench seat and a water tap – the smallest park in the world. He circled the trunk, head tilted back, trying to spot the balloon through the mess of limbs and leaves. It was there, right at the top. This was just like the day Ralph had first arrived. Leo stepped up onto the seat and stretched for the lowest branch. It was just out of reach, so he jumped, gripped it with both hands and hung there for a few seconds. Then he pulled himself up so he was crouching on the branch, and kept on going, clambering up through the arms of the tree. As he climbed higher and the ground fell away, his heart drummed louder and his legs trembled. He was nearly at the balloon and maybe Ralph would be there too, nestled at the top of the tree, waiting for Leo to find him.

At last, the round white shape was almost in reach. He lifted himself up one more branch and there it was. Round and white – but not what he expected. It was too round, too dirty and not a balloon at all. It was a soccer ball and it had Gus’s name on it.

The effort of the climb suddenly caught up with him. A groan choked in the back of his throat. He sucked deep breaths and his chest burned as if he’d swallowed the sun. Cicadas rattled. A cockatoo screeched. The tree seemed to sway like it wanted to shake him off and the whole town wobbled below.

He shut his eyes and filled his lungs with air. His heart slowed and the dizziness lifted, but he couldn’t work out what had happened. He thought it was the balloon, thought he had found Ralph. But it was just a soccer ball and now he’d be late home. Dad would fire a hundred questions at him. He’d frown and scratch the back of his head and blame it all on Ralph. Then all the grown-ups would worry again and they’d move somewhere worse than Dundle.

Leo buried his head in his hands. ‘Where are you, Ralph?’ He needed him more than ever.