The Floor With No Number

Part One

Eli rode the elevator with Gran every Saturday. Gran lived on the fifth floor. The buttons were round and silver.

Today, the elevator went up past five. It did not stop at six. Eli looked at Gran.

Eli asked, “Is this a trick?” Gran only smiled and held his hand. The numbers kept on climbing.

Then the elevator slowed down. It stopped with a soft ding. The lights flickered, just once.

On the panel, one round button was glowing green. It had no number at all. Eli had never seen it before.

The doors slid open. Eli took a step back. Gran gave his hand a squeeze.

Outside was not a hallway. There was green grass and the smell of earth. Eli could hear a bee.

It was a garden on the roof! Tomatoes grew in tall pots. Sunflowers nodded in the wind.

“Hello, you two!” called a voice. A woman in a straw hat waved a small shovel. “Come in!”

Her name was Noor. She lived on the ninth floor. “I look after this garden,” she said.

“Why is there no number?” asked Eli. “Because it is not a floor,” said Noor. “It is a surprise.”

Noor gave Eli a little watering can. He gave each tomato a drink. Then he picked one and ate it.

It tasted like sunshine. Gran laughed. “I have been waiting to show you this,” she said.

After that, every Saturday, the elevator stopped at that floor. Eli watered the plants. Noor taught him to grow his very own.