Dream On: Chapter 20 

T

he night air was refreshingly cool after an unseasonably hot Shabbos, and the Kosel was packed. ZeeZee managed to wrangle her way through the crowd to get a spot next to the Wall. She was still dressed in Shabbos clothes; she’d left her sister’s friend’s house in Maalot Dafna the second Havdalah was over.

ZeeZee scanned the area to see if anyone she knew was here. Even though it was Motzaei Shabbos, she’d hoped that by hurrying, she’d beat the seminary crowd. A quick glance revealed a group of girls who, judging from the way they were dressed, were most definitely not in any seminary, and, relieved, she opened her siddur. Tonight, she was in the mood to be alone.

Ever since her talk with Mrs. Edelman, she’d been feeling vaguely depressed. She’d had such grand dreams for this year — dreams of doing big, exciting things, of striking out her own path and coming home with a year’s worth of adventures that would set the stage for her life. Her own unique individual life.

“Am I really supposed to just force myself to be happy working at Shleimut?” she whispered into her siddur. “Or wash dishes for some family like everyone else?”