A stranger at the door: Read an extract from When Rain Turns To Snow by Jane Godwin

When Rain Turns To Snow by Jane Godwin

REED

My favourite word is sandal. It feels so open, so clear and simple, it makes me think of a little kid in summer.

A little kid – maybe it’s a memory, maybe it’s me – now skipping along, now balancing on that bit of concrete at the edge of the gutter.

Wearing.

Sandals.

Flat – are they red? – with shiny buckles.

I like the way the word looks. With the two a’s like that. And you can make it sound really slow in your mouth.

Not like Paddock. Sadie’s favourite word is paddock. It’s nice to say, but it’s a closed, clipped word, like the locking of a gate. You can’t linger on paddock like you can on sandal.

Hannah’s favourite word is serendipity. The slow, sliding “seren” and then the quick tongue-on-the-roof-of-your-mouth “dipity”. Satisfying.

And reed. The name for tall plants that grow beside a dam or a lake somewhere. Or a creek. A reed can also be part of a musical instrument, an oboe or a clarinet. But Reed can be a name, too. I thought when he told me his name, he was telling me to read. Like, to read something. Of course I didn’t see how it’s spelt when he said it out loud that day. And I thought, Read what? But it’s like this: Reed.

Read more here