ST. MARY’S ORPHANAGE.
Richard slowed without knowing why. He parked, shut off the engine, and sat there listening to the rain drum the roof. What am I doing? he thought. But Anne’s words pressed against his ribs like a hand. Give it somewhere to go.
He stepped into the storm, coat instantly soaked, shoes splashing through shallow water as he climbed the steps. He rang the bell. The sound echoed inside the building like it mattered.
A nun opened the door, her face lined with the quiet patience of someone who had seen too much.
“Yes?” she asked gently.
“I’m sorry,” Richard started, voice awkward. “I… I don’t know why I’m here. I just saw the sign.”
She studied him for a beat, then stepped aside. “Come in before you catch pneumonia,” she said.
Inside, the air smelled like lemon cleaner and something faintly sweet—oatmeal, maybe. The hallway was warm, lit by old lamps, and somewhere deeper in the building a baby cried briefly before being soothed. Richard wiped rain off his face and tried to remember how to breathe.
“I’m Richard Miller,” he said.
“Sister Catherine,” the nun replied. “Are you here to donate? Volunteer?”
Richard swallowed. “I lost my wife. We never had kids. I don’t… I don’t have a plan.”
Sister Catherine’s expression softened, but she didn’t pity him.
“Sometimes people arrive here without a plan,” she said quietly. “And that’s when God does His best work.”
Richard didn’t know what he believed anymore. He just knew the hole inside him had started to point somewhere.
She led him down the hall while thunder rolled outside like distant drums.
“We have many children,” she said. “Some older. Some babies. Some come and go quickly. Some… stay longer than they should.”
They passed toddlers with wooden blocks. They looked up, curious, then returned to their game. Richard’s heart twisted anyway.
At the end of the hall, Sister Catherine paused at a door. She hesitated—just a second, like she was deciding whether the truth behind it was too heavy for a stranger. Then she opened it.
The nursery was warm and softly lit. Cribs lined one wall. Stuffed animals sat in corners. The air held that unmistakable smell of baby lotion and clean blankets. And in the far corner, nine cribs stood close together—nine tiny bundles sleeping and stirring.
Richard stepped forward, breath catching.
“They were left together,” Sister Catherine said softly. “All at once.”
“Nine?” Richard whispered, like the number couldn’t be real.
She nodded. “Nine baby girls.”
Their skin was deep brown. Their hair was soft and tight against their heads. One had a fist pressed to her cheek, another sighed in her sleep like the world was already exhausting.
“They’re sisters?” he asked.
“We don’t know,” Sister Catherine admitted. “No papers. No note. Just a basket on our steps and nine babies inside. A miracle and a tragedy.”
Richard stared at them like he was staring at fate.
“What happens to them?” he asked, voice unsteady.
Sister Catherine didn’t answer right away. Her silence did.
“People will adopt one,” she said finally. “Sometimes two. But nine…” She shook her head. “No one wants to take them all.”
Richard looked at the cribs again. He pictured strangers pointing, choosing, separating them like items on a shelf. He pictured nine lives starting together and being forced apart because it was “easier.” His throat tightened until it hurt.
“So you’ll split them,” he said.
Sister Catherine’s eyes looked tired. “We’ll do what we must,” she replied. “But yes. Separation is likely.”
The storm cracked outside like a warning. Richard thought of the empty nursery at home. He thought of Anne’s words pressing against his ribs. Then he heard himself speak before his logic could stop him.
“I’ll take them.”
Sister Catherine blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“I’ll adopt them,” Richard said again, louder. “All of them.”
Her face shifted—shock first, then fear on his behalf.
“Mr. Miller… you’re alone,” she said carefully.
“I know.”
“Nine babies are a lifetime,” she warned. “It isn’t—this isn’t like getting a puppy. It’s bottles and sickness and school and—”
“I know,” he repeated, even though he didn’t. Not the details. Only the meaning.
Sister Catherine searched his face for recklessness. For ego. For performance.
Richard’s hands shook slightly, but his gaze didn’t. “I don’t want them separated,” he said thickly. “Not if I can stop it.”
Her eyes glistened. “Why would you do something so impossible?”
Richard swallowed hard. “Because my wife told me not to let love die,” he said. “And I have love left. Too much. I need somewhere to put it.”
For a long moment, Sister Catherine said nothing. Then she exhaled.
“This won’t be quick,” she warned. “Courts. Social workers. Home inspections. People will question your sanity.”
Richard nodded once. “Then let them.”
Sister Catherine looked at the nine cribs again as if she was choosing hope on purpose. She placed her palm against his. Warm. Steady.
“Then we’ll try,” she said. “For them.”
And in that nursery, while nine tiny girls slept under soft blankets and thunder rolled outside, Richard Miller’s life began again.
Leave a Comment