The Orphan Collector: A Heroic Novel of Survival During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

Pia wakes in the pew box of a church, unsure of how she got there. She then remembers that Mutti is dead and that she left Ollie and Max in her apartment. Panicked, Pia gets up, but a nurse scolds her and helps her return to bed. learning from the nurse that she has been there for six days, Pia again tries to get up, but any movement spurs a coughing fit. Pia explains that she needs to return home and get her baby brothers, but the nurse tells Pia that she is too sick to leave. The nurse assures Pia that a neighbor or visiting nurse has most likely found her brothers. Pia is overwhelmed with shame but cannot bring herself to tell the nurse that she hid the boys in a cubby. She begs the nurse to send someone to check on them, and the nurse promises she will go look herself. Pia feels her lungs constrict, but she doesn’t know whether the sensation is coming from the nurse or her own struggling lungs.

When Pia next wakes, she has been moved from the pew to a cot. Desperate for news about her brothers, Pia gets the attention of a nun and asks for the nurse, learning that she passed away from the flu two days ago.