SOMETIMES, MY SISTER seemed to be beckoning it, and I would steer well clear of her. Down the back, away from the house, she would lay out a bath towel and sunbake. When she turned, the sun would bounce off her baby oil, and I would glance up from my game.

The way she reclined so deliberately under that sky annoyed me. She knew it stalked us from above. On the drive to and from town, she would point out the possible hiding places. A cave. Another cave. The train tunnel under the road. After tea, she would rush for news updates. Together, we counted down the days and calculated impact probabilities. Sometimes it would get too much for us, we would freak ourselves out.