Once she was back outside, Officer Standish peppered her with questions. She wanted to know Annie’s full name, her date of birth, her New York address, a number where she could be reached, who she’d leased the house from.

“Why do you need all this? My son’s home. He’s okay.”

“Just for my report. I think that’s everything.”

Annie watched as she got back into her cruiser, killed the flashing lights, and drove out to the road. Once she had turned and started driving off, the second car followed.

Something caught Annie’s eye.

The lights were on in Daniel’s house.

Annie put in a call to the leasing agent first thing in the morning.

“Candace,” she said, “do you have a handyman?”

She explained that she needed the home’s two doors—front and back—to be as secure from the inside as they were from outside. Annie said that if Charlie had another sleepwalking episode, she didn’t want him to be able to leave the house. At the same time, she didn’t want the place difficult to get out of in the event of a fire or some other emergency.

Candace had a suggestion. “What about a chain on his bedroom door?”

Annie didn’t like that. She wanted Charlie safe, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to be treated like a prisoner. And what if he had to get up in the night to use the bathroom? But a chain on the front and back doors, mounted high enough that Charlie could not reach it, might be the answer.

“Let me talk to my guy and I’ll get back to you,” Candace said.

Annie had that call done before Charlie was even down for breakfast. He was more tired than usual, not surprisingly, but other than that seemed no worse for wear. His mother announced that they were going to do something different today. They were getting out of the house. No work for her, no trains for him. They were going to explore.

“We don’t have to,” Charlie said.

“But we’re going to,” Annie insisted. “We leave at ten. Got it?”

That gave them an hour before departure. Charlie still had to get dressed and brush his teeth. Annie stayed in the kitchen, reading the news on her tablet, but finding it hard to focus.

I hope I’m not losing my mind, she thought.

How else was she to explain what she’d seen in the night? That train had seemed so real. The roar of the engine. The ground trembling beneath her. The headlight glaring at them.

And then it was gone.

Annie hadn’t spoken to her therapist, Dr. Maya Hersh, in some time. She wondered whether she would be available for a Zoom appointment. She used her phone to send an email, asking if she might have time for a session. Today, if possible.

“Ready!” Charlie shouted.