“We need to go to Penn Station,” I say, instinctively moving toward the door.

“I’ll go to the airport,” Jorge says. “She could’ve made it there by now.”

“Pa, I’m gonna have to call you back,” I say. Before he can protest, I shove my phone back inside my pocket.

“What can I do?” Erika asks. “I want to—”

“Stay here,” I say to her. “Stay here in case she comes by.”

Erika nods once. I nod back at her, and then, without another word, Jorge and I walk out of the bodega.

I don’t think I’ve ever run faster in my life. I’ve never been in such a rush to get anywhere. The taxi ride to Penn Station was taking forever, so I had no choice but to hop out of the cab and run the rest of the way.

By the time I finally get to the corner of Thirty-Third and Seventh Avenue, my shirt is sticky with sweat, my stomach hurting and my breathing heavy. In the back of my mind, I can’t help but feel as though this is pointless. Sophie may not even be at Penn Station. And even if she did come here, she may have already tried and failed to get on a train to the airport. Or—even worse—she might’ve figured out how to get a ticket, and find the right platform, and be halfway to New Jersey by now.

I rush down the escalator and slow down only long enough to get a good look at the signs pointing toward the New Jersey Transit corridor.

The place is crowded, filled with commuters trying to make their way back home, which makes it almost impossible to move. As I push my way past groups of people, all I can think about is Sophie’s black hair. I look for it everywhere—in the long lines at ticket machines, in the throng of people walking up and down the stairs, and among the crowds that move quickly throughout the station. A couple of times, my heart skips a beat, thinking I’ve finally spotted her, but when I look twice, I realize it wasn’t my sister. And the longer I spend doing this, the lower my stomach sinks. Maybe we were stupid to assume that she would come here. Maybe we’re just wasting valuable time that we should’ve spent searching somewhere else.