Dad arrived and stood outside the coil's glowing ring, where time ran normal. He read Mara's notes and called the count for both sisters from the outside, like a conductor. On his mark they each pressed reverse. The fold smoothed, the gap closed, and the three of them stood in the same minute, finally.

While they waited for Dad, the coil's hum changed. The gap started climbing faster, three minutes, then four, on its own. Waiting wasn't safe anymore. Mara grabbed the notebook and wrote in huge letters: 'Can't wait. We do this NOW, on five.' Ines counted with her across the lag, they both pressed, and the gap crashed down to zero.