a ruin. A building that had burned down. The door was charred and cracked open a little.

"I know this door," I said. "It's from the fire. This must be my nightmare."

He shook his head.

"It's mine. I know it is."

We walked out into the street and I realized I was near my home. My mom's. we were walking uphill, not getting tired. I was animated at first telling him they must be mixing again, his and mine, but he didn't smile. He knew what was happening.

Something had come and taken the firstborn. The parents in all the houses were bringing them out and putting then on the lawns and sobbing. I was crying and could barely see. He may have been too.

"What happened?" I asked him. He choked outHe sounded calm. His voice was quiet. All the other sounds were gone.

"I..." was all he said at first. I think I'd stopped crying.

"I sometimes dream," he said slowly, "that everything...good...is ruined. Sometimes. Its you here. Or me. Or..."

He put his hand on my shoulder. Something was digging into my knee on the floor.

"Please," he said. "I don't want to know this part. We can leave. Please."

Then the baby coughed. I grabbed him and picked him up and held him so I could see his face. He had plaster dust in his hair. A scrape on his cheek. His eyes opened, strange and alien like baby eyes. Dark. I felt the shock go through Adam's body. I pressed the baby to my chest and stood up. He was