Sara Lost and Found by Virginia Castleman

there. Anna holds back and sticks close to a tree. Sneaker, I can tell, wants to get down.
    â€œRun away?”
    I look back at her. “You mean Sneaker? I don’t think so. She just wants to explore with us.”
    â€œI’ll wait here.” Anna sits down and starts pulling Abby apart. New settings are hard for her to get used to.
    The kids see us and run over. One boy, who looks to be about nine, scoops Sneaker up and rubs his cheek against her coat.
    â€œMy cat!” Anna yells. It’s the first time I’ve seen her yell at someone she doesn’t know. I grin. Maybe she can stand up for herself after all.
    â€œI’m just petting him,” the boy says, eyeing Abby. “Hey, what’s with the busted doll?”
    I look at the scattered pieces of Abby on the grass and back at the boy. “We’re playing a game,” I tell him, covering up for Anna’s strange habit.
    â€œWhat’s the game? Pick up limbs?” The boy laughs, making the other kids laugh too. He bends down and picks up an arm piece and turns to his friends. “Need a hand, anyone?”
    Again they all laugh.
    â€œGive back!” Anna jumps to her feet and hooks an arm around the boy’s neck, pulling him back against her and squeezing until his face looks puffy and red. His breathing sounds pinched and eerie.
    â€œAnna!” I run over and try to pull her arm off. “Anna, let go! You’re choking him! Let go, Anna! Let go!”
    The boy grows limp, and when Anna finally releases him, he falls to the ground. He doesn’t move.
    â€œYou killed him,” his friends shout.
    â€œWhat’s going on here?”
    I whirl around. When I see Dr. Dan, I almost start to cry. “Anna got upset. This boy made fun of her doll, and she choked him. Now he’s not breathing.”
    Dr. Dan drops down beside the limp boy, sits him up, and thumps him on the back with a cupped hand. Like magic, the kid opens his eyes, coughs a few times, and looks around like he’s wondering where he is. Anna just stares blankly, as if she doesn’t know what all the fuss is about.
    Dr. Dan ruffles the boy’s hair. “He’s going to be all right,” he says, checking the boy’s eyes. I can tell he’s mad at Anna, but he doesn’t say anything to her. Maybe he doesn’t want to get bitten again, because all he says is, “Can you kids show me where he lives? Anna and Sara, why don’t you go home with Barbara?”
    We watch them walk away, Dr. Dan carrying the boy, the others clustered around him. I spin around and glare at Anna.
    â€œYou could have killed him. What were you thinking?”
    She bends over and starts picking up doll parts. Mrs. MacMillan squats down to help.
    â€œWould you want to be choked?” Why can’t she just be like a normal sister and answer a question?
    â€œSara—I think Anna’s had enough stress for one day.”
    I ignore Mrs. MacMillan, keeping my glare glued to Anna. “Do you want people to hate us? Is that why you’re so mean? Biting. Spitting. And now, almost choking a kid? Keep it up, Anna, and nobody will want us around. Nobody .”
    â€œSara—please.” Mrs. MacMillan stands up, holding arms, legs, a head, and a body. “Please, sweetheart, give Anna some thinking room.”
    Anna rises to her feet and looks at me with a look so blank that a chill chases up my arm. Then she does something she’s never done before. She walks away.
    â€œGo ahead. Run away, Anna. Be like Mama. I don’t care. You hear me? I don’t care.” Tears burn my eyes.
    Mrs. MacMillan rushes ahead to catch up with Anna, calling for me to follow, but I stay rooted to my spot, stewing in anger. Why can’t she just be normal?
    Anna’s head hangs low. Mrs. MacMillan must have asked if she could put an arm around her, because Anna nods and Mrs. MacMillan wraps an arm around Anna’s shoulder.
    I