And so the winter passed, and it was such a lovely winter, perhaps because it was the coldest winter in two thousand years. Inside, in the warm living room, Wuwu made sunset and snow flavoured ice cream for everyone. Storm taught Wuwu and Pruney how to dance the tango while Thit Maya, with the squirrel on her lap, sat by the stove stirring the loveliest pinenut soup with fresh fish. And Thit Maya’s little friends used each other as knitting needles, and for yarn, they used the soft down which Everett and her brothers and sisters had shed during the winter. So in the spring, when the Everetts returned from Africa, there were soft new pillows waiting for them in The Secret Place.

Step In Books
(2016)