Metal

Josephine no longer had to volunteer to wrangle the most difficult residents; everyone simply left it to her. She prepared Eveline for the dining room, making sure that her frail bones were well-padded with a "pillow support system" in the chair for easy travel. Josephine hugged Ana Caterina and quickly dog-leashed her wheeled walker to the back of the wheelchair so that her oxygen set-up traveled with her. "No rush," she said smiling to Luo Ti (who was finishing her umpteenth cigarette against policy, breathing shakily out of the window of her room), and then Josephine swapped out handkerchiefs and sleeve guards for Isabel, who could not (for any number of reasons) stop crying. "You are a saint," Henry said, catching her at the moment she could step back from the table and let them eat. "I'm not, though," Josephine responded warmly. "I'm simply the one who sees it." The confusion showed on his face immediately, and she hugged him. "We all have our place and the trick is to see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Here, we have earth, air, fire, and water together in harmony - treated with respect. Me? Been in two serious car accidents; I'm held together with plates and screws. I'm ... metal. I'm here to serve and, when I can bring anything full circle, I benefit. I was on my way to a complete loss of mobility but, when I made it my focus to create moments of companionship for and with these creatures, it healed me enough that I rarely even have to take Ibuprofen." Henry stared at her, silent. "Don't dumb it down," Josephine whispered, squeezing his arm. "This work?" Henry asked in awe. "Life," she corrected, walking away.