Whats up, Sam?What birthday? he panted.What?What birthday, Anna?It took a while for her to absorb his fear. It took a while for the reason for his fear to dawn on her.Fifteen, Anna said in a whisper.Whats the matter? Emma asked, sensing her twins mood. It doesnt mean anything.It doesnt, Anna whispered.Youre probably right, Sam said.Oh, my God, Anna said. Are we going to disappear?When were you born? Sam asked. What time of day?The twins exchanged scared looks. We dont know.You know what, no one has blinked out since that first day, so its probablyEmma disappeared.Anna screamed.The other older kids took notice, the littles, too.Oh, my God! Anna cried. Emma. Emma. Oh, God!She grabbed Sams hands and he held her tight.The prees, some of them, caught the fear. Mother Mary came over. Whats going on? Youre scaring the kids. Wheres Emma?Anna just kept saying, Oh, my God, and calling her sisters name.Wheres Emma? Mary demanded again. Whats going on?Sam didnt want to explain. Anna was hurting him with the pressure of her fingers digging into the backs of his hands. Annas eyes were huge, staring holes in him.How far apart were you born? Sam asked.Anna just stared in blank horror.Sam lowered his voice to an urgent whisper. How far apart were you born, Anna?Six minutes, she whispered.Hold my hands, Sam, she said.Dont let me go, Sam, she said.I wont, Anna, I wont let you go, Sam said.Whats going to happen, Sam?I dont know, Anna.Will we go to where our mom and dad are?I dont know, Anna."Am I going to die?No, Anna. Youre not going to die.Dont let go of me, Sam.Mary was there now, a baby on her hip. John was there. The prees, some of them, watched with serious, worried looks on their faces.I dont want to die, Anna repeated. II dont know what its like.Its okay, Anna.Anna smiled. That was a nice date. When we went out.It was.For a split second it was like Anna blurred. Too fast to be real. She blurred, and Sam could almost swear that she had smiled at him.And his fingers squeezed on nothing.For a terribly long time no one moved or said anything.The littles didnt cry out. The older kids just stared.Sams fingertips still remembered the feel of Annas hands. He stared at the place where her face had been. He could still see her pleading eyes.Unable to stop himself, he reached a hand into the space she had occupied. Reaching for a face that was no longer there.Someone sobbed.Someone cried out, other voices then, the prees started crying.Sam felt sick. When his teacher had disappeared he hadnt been expecting it. This time he had seen it coming, like a monster in a slow-motion nightmare. This time he had seen it coming, like standing rooted on the railroad tracks, unable to jump aside.