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suffer. If I didn’t know and remember I wouldn’t suffer as I am. He is … a shadow.”
    J. was too shocked to organize his thoughts, too confused to think about the fact that his time was running out and he must hurry.
    â€œA man who is a shadow?”
    She rocked faster. “I want to go home. He won’t let me go home.”
    â€œI could take you home.”
    She grabbed at him like a drowning swimmer. “You can take me? Yes. Yes. But … do you know where it is?”
    The confusion J. felt was apparent on all his features. “If you tell me…”
    She immediately released him and turned away. “Fool. Stupid. Do you think I’d be here if I could remember that?” She rocked again, holding her head.
    Without warning, a powerful emotion washed over J., filling him with an expansive happiness and relief. It was so strong he felt weak. He had never allowed himself to acknowledge what Letitia’s loss had meant to him. They had had their differences but family was family.
    â€œI missed you, sister,” J. said. She didn’t respond and so he sat next to her. “Why didn’t you tell me that you could fly? When did you first find out?”
    It took several moments for his words to penetrate into her head and for her to find a response. “It started when I was seven. I hated it. I didn’t want to be like you. I wanted to hide it.”
    He nodded; hiding it and pretending it didn’t exist would have been much easier. He understood all about that.
    â€œAnd then there was Sarah…” Letitia murmured, unable to finish her thought. Of course with J. she didn’t need to explain more. J. knew all about the day that Letitia had flown with their younger sister, Sarah, and there had been a terrible accident when they got caught in a rainstorm. Sarah had slipped out of Letitia’s hands and fallen to her death, and Letitia had never forgiven herself or flown again.
    â€œMom and Dad will be glad to know where you are,” J. said, changing the subject.
    â€œThey aren’t our real parents,” Letitia said matter-of-factly and without missing a beat. “They adopted us. They were the ones who called you Johnny, but that wasn’t your real name, not the one you were born with.”
    â€œ What? What did you say?”
    Letitia was suddenly sharply lucid. “Don’t you remember anything? Nothing?” She watched him closely and saw that he didn’t, and then sighed. “Which is worse? Knowing and not being able to have it, or not knowing and never understanding what could be?”
    Her rocking returned and she slipped away again.
    An alarm sounded and J. remembered that his time had been limited, only now he didn’t care. Like his sister’s, his time had become infinite. He gathered his things and turned invisible, staying close beside her.
    â€œI want to know what you know,” he told her.
    â€œJeston. Jeston. Jeston,” she said.
    J. liked the way his name sounded on her lips.

 
    CHAPTER
    6
    Conrad’s father announced his death on national television. Everyone was watching. Especially Conrad. It is a very peculiar feeling to have your parent declare your death when you happen to know that you are still very much alive.
    It was a day like any other on the McCloud farm. Before the sun rose Piper had taken Fido out to stretch his wings. As soon as they had returned to the farm Fido immediately went to Conrad, who was in his lab working on TiTI. Conrad had grown used to the snuffling and bumbling of his new pet and even let him sleep at the foot of his bed. For his own part, Fido didn’t like to let Conrad out of his sight and had calmed down considerably as he grew accustomed to the routine of farm life.
    After lunch, Conrad, with Fido at his heels, helped Joe with a fence that needed fixing in the back field. By the time that was done and the animals fed for the night, Betty was