The clock tower in downtown Manhattan strikes 10:00 a.m. In the background, the towering Woolworths Building rises, defying the light morning mist, its white Gothic facade catching the golden sunlight.
Sellers of roasted chestnuts and newspaper carts begin their work, their voices mingling with the clatter of horses' hooves on the stones.
The sidewalk teems with office workers hurrying to their offices, and businessmen in dark coats read newspapers as they walk by.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Sunday, September 27, 1914
Allies repel fierce German offensive on the Western Front; heavy fighting continues along the Ice.
French and British forces fortify their positions. Berlin announces the destruction of strongholds in Galicia, and Belgian towns face siege.
"Here is your coffee and egg sandwich" said the stall owner as she handed the purchase to Joan.
"Thank you, here you go " Joan waited until she made sure of the amount before following the nearby commotion, or rather the Irish violin band, who were performing in front of a nearby cafe, supposedly a contract with the owner.
Making sure of her inner wallet and positioning her to be in front of her, before standing closer to the band.
As if they were a ware, they are one of the few things lifting the spirit of New Yorkers. The violinists played faster with every passing minute. One by one, hurried pedestrians slowed, a few smiling despite the newspapers tucked beneath their arms.
As Joan finished her late breakfast, she headed to the library.
"Good morning,miss fin"
"Good day miss Joan, how are you doing?" After exchanging pleasantries, Joan handed the book to her so she could register its return, before borrowing another.
"Oh, you finished this one rather fast, you have become skilled in reading French books lately, surely your efforts have been paying off"
"Well, as long as it lasts. Still there is a long way ahead until mastery" Joan replied truthfully. Even though she made great streak in the last few months, she didn't get too close to the language's mastery
She went and sat at a table in the corner, browsing another presiding over lung and kidney disease with their cures. As it's for nothing else, Just to add plausible thoughts to the correspondence she was having with doctor Charles and the rest. It turned out that after she held out and continued to exchange letters with different known medical names, despite the ignoring and disdain from some of them in the beginning, finally she reaped some of what she sowed. As some of them began to have more trust in her thoughts while others are willing to listen or rather read. As of long, Dr Charles and another doctor Macruphey are the only ones she met after being invited for a small meeting.
Coincidentally, they were the ones who recommended her Practical Handbook for Maternity Nurses to their publisher friend,
As it turns out, they liked theists and boldness to look beyond frame (not in the book precisely). Even if she can't feel too proud of herself, as it was only within the conception of work and knowledge given to her, Joan still felt happy that someone was acknowledging her efforts.
The arranged meeting with the publisher was set next Sunday. Hopefully, everything goes well.
Nevertheless, she still needs to hone her knowledge and speech to continue guiding another way, of course that knowledge will not come from these books as they are the source of relevance to the perhaps different results.
Time slipped with the flipping of pages, and with Joan's pen scratching the paper, more than an hour passed, she got up to stretch one time through it.
–Well, that summarizes the end of this subject, next I will organize the notes before submitting to the doctor's circle.
On her way back, while purchasing her weekly groceries, the newspaper boy was seen selling his last one to a man wearing a bowler.
The prosperity of the media industry was one thing that shone amidst the continued war during. To her surprise, Joan found herself, unaffected by the situation, maybe due to her past knowledge of their victory, or her ignorance of a true battlefield terror, she didn't know and she is certainly not ready to know.
"Joan! We are here" Helen raised her hand beckoning for Joan.
"For a second, I thought you would have lunch outside" Jenin
"I took my time on my way back, it's a lovely weather"
"A good walk is the best for a stagnant routine"
so her days continued uneventfully, amongst the occasional sigh from patients and nurses volunteering to the front line.
Unsurprisingly, Elise and Lucie were among them; their departure was set within two days. Which is why she has been feeling rather down as of late. If you ask her if she doesn't care, she will definitely disagree, after all, one was her home and the other is where she resided for years. Moreover,her declaration of duty as a nurse was more than enough.
In the end she was a coward who wasn't willing to suffer. Even with her experience in the emergency ward, Joan was still afraid. Not only afraid of gunshot and bombshells, but also of her helplessness,
without and the poor condition antibiotics everyone effort will be left to the flips of a coin.
Not yet.
If she walked into a military hospital today, she would only become another pair of trembling hands.
She needed another year
Another year to harden herself.
Then... she would go.