Dorothy's Struggle In The Union Square Orphanage

It was a crisp, bright August morning when Dorothy stepped into the Union Square Orphanage. The fresh wind swept her face as she made her way into her nurse station. She sat in her unbalanced and stared at the 6 month old diploma that hung wispily on her wall. The constant squeaking of her chair made her think of her effervescent desire to quit nursing. When she first started nursing training she had the passion to get out and help anybody especially children. She defied her family and refused to marry the eligible bachelors of Abingdon. In the middle of the night, she gathered her belongings and headed out for Philadelphia and didn’t look back. Now as she sits in the mist of tears and screams she contemplates being a housewife.
As a blond …show more content…
They just assumed.” Then there was a long moment of silence as Dorothy continued to scrub him. They both waited for each other to start the conversation again but feared making the other person uncomfortable. Dorothy handed him a towel and clean clothes that resembled the clothes the military boys worn in the magazines. She took him upstairs and made him a bowl of the daily mush. She sat down and ate with him. The lumpy and droopy concoction tasted like last night’s waste drowned in cabbage juice. When they both took their first bite they looked at each other to confirm with each other that the goo was horrible. Despite this Zachariah continued to eat and even ate Dorothy’s food. Zachariah revealed how he came from Boston and that he was 10 years old. His Catholic family sold him to a Protestant merchant who neglected him and left him to the streets. He survived by shining shoes in front of stores but got into a turf war with the neighborhood kids. He was forced to go dumpster diving and luckily was found by the police. He refused to talk to them so they assumed he was an immigrant. Dorothy listened as he talked uninterrupted and felt a connection to Zachariah that she could not …show more content…
Last night, she had a dream of Zachariah playing in the fields. Every once in a while she would get scared at how attached she got to Zachariah and wondered if it was too fast. That all went away once she stepped into the orphanage. By-passing all the children in her way she immediately went to Zachariah’s bed. To her amazement his bed was empty and everything was neatly folded. At first she didn’t panic because she assumed he went to the bathroom, so she just continued to make breakfast for the other kids. She put the croissants in her pocket and proceeded to wake up the other children. On her way to the kitchen she saw the matron, doctors and nurses gathering in the infirmary. She peered through and saw a young girl who lived in the orphanage for six years being checked out by the doctor. She had an expressionless face that stared in to the lights. Dorothy walked in and immediately saw on the other side of the room Zachariah lying in a bed lifeless. A priest was standing other him reading The Lord’s Prayer and blessing him. Dorothy fell to her knees beside his bed and cried aloud. The matron noticed her and told her to keep quiet and to not shed tears for the dirty immigrant. She was told that he had complications due to polio and asked for her but she was nowhere to be found. The matron cut into the conversation again and scolded Dorothy for being disrespectful