Chapter 9

Just as the orphans thought they might freeze to death, a bus pulled up outside the ruins of the orphanage.  The children climbed wearily on board and were each given a blanket and an apple.  This kept them warm and occupied until they pulled up outside a large, brightly lit building.  Nurse Smiley stood up at the front of the bus and blew a whistle.  The children sat quietly waiting to hear what she had to say.

“We are staying overnight at the Childrens’ Hospital to check everyone for burns or smoke inhalation.  Tomorrow morning after breakfast we will meet in this spot, and you will be taken to your accommodation.  I hope you can sleep the rest of the night because it is only a few hours until dawn.”

It was hard to sleep in the hospital beds because a doctor or a nurse was always waking someone up to see if they were all right when they would have been perfectly happy to stay asleep.  Breakfast came around on little trays after which the children, still in their pyjamas, were taken downstairs and out the front door.

Nurse Smiley and Matron had a large box of clothes which they distributed to the children.  Step ended up with a pair of trousers that was far too large and a skinny jumper.  Tear wore a dress that reached the ground.  Sad was given a tiny pair of shorts and a button through shirt which nearly reached his knees.

“This is only temporary,” said Nurse Smiley.  “We are now going to a Scout Hall where we will camp on the floor until we can find more permanent accommodation.”

In the Scout Hall were rows of inflatable mattresses with a sleeping bag sitting beside each one.  The red mattresses were for the boys and the green mattresses for the girls.  More clothes arrived in another large box so the children spent the day finding some more appropriate and comfortable things to wear.  They even found shoes and socks.

At 12 o’clock a long table was set up with sliced bread and butter at one end.  The orphans took their bread and then chose a filling for their sandwich.  The options were honey, vegemite, peanut butter, cold baked beans, cheese slices, lettuce, tomatoes, egg and corned beef.

Sad smiled over his corned beef and baked bean sandwich. “This is the best sandwich I have ever had,” he said.

Step was content with vegemite and lettuce while Tear had cheese, tomato and egg.

On the end of the table there were glasses and a huge container of 50/50 which is a drink made from lemons and oranges.  There were even small squares of fruit cake for those who were still hungry and a barrel of apples and oranges.

In the afternoon Mr Scott took them outside for a game of rounders which is a bit like baseball only it uses a tennis ball and a cricket bat.  A group of Scouts arrived later that day and showed the children some of the games they played at their meetings.  By six o’clock the orphans were tired after their busy day.  The Scout mothers had made large vats of soup which they ate with thick slices of bread toasted over the coals of the camp fire.

The orphans lined up with their bowls and spoons to wash and dry them before stacking them in crates. When all was tidy they sat on their inflatable mattresses while Matron prepared to speak to them.  No longer did she wear an imposing three cornered headdress.  It was amazing to see her with short grey hair and a simple skirt and jumper.  She looked much more like an ordinary human being.

“Until we can find permanent accommodation you will all be fostered by families.  We have sent out an urgent request and have eighteen people willing to keep you for up to a month. Tomorrow morning the first of the Foster Parents will arrive.  I want you to be on your best behaviour because if you are not good there will be no choice but to send you back and I’m afraid that means you will have to live in the streets as there is no home to go to.”  Matron looked sternly at the eighteen children.  “Nurse Smiley and I will have to stay at the Nurse’s Home while we are looking for a new place to live, so you definitely can’t stay with us should you have a falling out with your foster parents.”

Then it was lights out until one girl cried out, “My Li-Lo’s gone down.”  Soon there were cries from all over the room.  Someone had sneaked around and pulled the plugs on the inflatable mattresses.  The lights came back on, and the next half hour was spent using a number of pumps to reinflate the beds.  Finally, the lights were again turned off and everyone, even Sad, fell asleep.

Tear was hoping that she would be able to stay with Step and Sad, but she was the first to be picked up next morning.  The Grown-Up was an older woman who didn’t seem to know much about children as she didn’t have any of her own.  She told Tear that once she had a husband but he was killed in the War.  She said she had a lovely cottage by the sea and Tear could go for walks along the beach.

They caught a bus from outside the Scout Hall and sat in the front seat, looking at the cars and trucks as they sped past.  Then Tear caught a glimpse of the sea as they roared down a steep hill.  The bus stopped and Aunt Ella, as she wanted to be called, took her hand and led her down the steps onto the pavement.

“Not far to go now,” she said as they continued down the steep hill.  

Tear looked up at a magnificent mansion on their right. “What a beautiful house that is.”

“Yes,” replied Aunt Ella.  “A very good friend of mine lives in that house.  Maybe we can go and visit her one day.”

Tear thought she would like that if she could explore all the turrets and towers.

Aunt Ella’s house was not very big, but it had a front garden full of flowers and a sunny front veranda with two Adirondack chairs filled with comfy cushions.  On one chair a black cat was sleeping but it opened one green eye when they arrived.

Aunt Ella said the cottage had two bedrooms.  One was for visitors although she didn’t have many nowadays.  There were two single beds with green chenille bedspreads and a wardrobe and chest of drawers where Tear could put her clothes.

“But I don’t have any clothes!” exclaimed Tear.  “What I had was lost in the fire.”

“Then we’ll go shopping at the Salvation Army Store.  I’m sure we can find you some clothes for not very much money.  We can’t have you wearing the same thing every day for a month, can we?”

Aunt Ella prepared some sandwiches for lunch and poured Tear a glass of milk.

“This afternoon I am going to have a rest so you might like to have a look around the neighbourhood.  There is a pretty walk down to the beach from here.  I’m afraid the hill is too much for me to on the way back and I know young ones love to explore.”

Tear was surprised that she was allowed to go out on her own.  At the orphanage they were never allowed out without supervision.  After helping Aunt Ella clean up the lunch dishes, she put on a hat from the hall stand and stepped out onto the verandah.  In the distance, at the bottom of the steep hill, she could see the sparkle of the sea.  The black cat stretched and leapt down onto the boards, running lightly to the front gate.

“Are you coming with me?” asked Tear. “I wish I knew your name.”

At the bottom of the hill stretched a long sandy beach.  At one end Tear could see a swimming pool carved out of the rocks.  Beyond that stretched a flat area where waves crashed into little round pools and then drained swiftly away.  At the other end of the beach large rocks were piled high against the cliff.  To her right was a small lagoon fed by a splashing waterfall. Above her, on the top of a towering cliff, was the mansion, with a winding, overgrown track snaking up from the beach.

Where to go first?  Tear decided to climb to the mansion but halfway up was stopped by a rockfall which had totally destroyed the path. The black cat pushed on, scrambling over the rocks with ease but Tear was not as nimble at the cat. Back down she clambered, heading off towards the swimming pool and rock platform.  For the rest of the afternoon Tear stared into clear rock pools, watching little fish dart around while colourful starfish clung to the sides.

The sun was low in the sky and the air was chilly so Tear climbed the hill back to the cottage.  Would Aunt Ella be angry because she was so late?

She needn’t have worried as Aunt Ella treated her like an adult with the same amount of freedom.  She turned from the pot of soup she was stirring. “Tomorrow morning, we are going to the Salvation Army Shop and in the afternoon we are having tea with Miss Zipporah Magillacuddy.”

And so it was that Tear, dressed in her pre-loved clothes from the Salvos, accompanied Aunt Ella along the overgrown path to the front door of the mansion.  A very, very old lady answered the door. 

“How do you do, Miss Magillacuddy,” said Tear dutifully, as she had been instructed.

“Just call me Aunt Zip,” the old woman said. “Now tell me all about your terrible experience with the fire at the orphanage.”

Tear sat with a cup of tea and a scone on her knee while she recounted the events of the past few days.  She talked about Sad and how he had saved them all by shouting “Fire”, even though he was an Elective Mute.  She described the Scout Hall where the orphans had stayed until they were picked up by Foster Parents.

“Matron and Nurse Smiley are looking for somewhere for the orphans to live as the Opera Orphanage for Unwanted Boys and Girls is no more.  It was burnt to the ground,” said Tear sadly. “I loved that place because it was the first time I was happy in my whole life.  I had good friends and Nurse Smiley was very kind.”

Aunt Zip looked thoughtful.  She turned to her friend. “Ella, would you do something for me as I don’t have a telephone.  Would you please ring my solicitor, Mr Moody, and ask him to come and see me when it is convenient?”

On the way home Aunt Ella told Tear some startling news.  Last week Aunt Zip had turned 100 and she had received a telegram from the Queen.  She didn’t like to talk about it because it made her feel old.

As they entered the cottage Ella was wondering about the solicitor.  What was Zipporah Magillacuddy up to this time?”

END OF CHAPTER 9