Robert remembered. Their neighbor’s 8-year-old son had fallen off his bicycle and broken his arm badly. The doctors said it would take 6 weeks to heal.
“I drew him a picture of a superhero with strong arms,”
Lily said matter-of-factly.
“And I told him his arm was going to be stronger than ever. It got better in 3 weeks instead of six.”
Robert stared at his daughter, his mind racing.
“But Lily,”
Robert said gently,
“helping someone’s back feel better or helping a broken arm heal faster… that’s very different from making someone who can’t walk suddenly be able to walk again.”
Lily finished her cereal and looked at her father seriously.
“Daddy, Judge Catherine’s legs aren’t broken like Tommy’s arm was. Her legs work fine. The problem is in her heart.”
“What do you mean, sweetheart?”
“When I touched her hand yesterday, I could feel all the sadness inside her,”
Lily explained.
“She’s so sad and scared that she’s forgotten how to believe in good things. Sometimes when people are very sad for a long time, their bodies forget how to work right, too.”
Robert didn’t know what to say.
“So, how are you going to help her?”
he asked.
Lily smiled brightly.
“I’m going to show her how to remember joy, and when she remembers how to be happy, her legs will remember how to walk.”
That same morning, Judge Catherine was in her home office trying to focus on other legal cases, but she couldn’t concentrate. She kept thinking about Lily’s confident smile. Catherine had been to dozens of doctors over the past 3 years. They had all told her the same thing. Her spinal cord was severely damaged in the car accident, and she would never walk again. It was medically impossible. Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. It was Dr. Harrison, her longtime physician.
“Catherine,”
Dr. Harrison said,
“I heard about what happened in your courtroom yesterday. The whole town is talking about it.”
“I’m sure they are,”
Catherine replied, feeling slightly embarrassed.
“Listen, I’ve been your doctor for 15 years, and I care about you. I don’t want you to get your hopes up about something that can’t happen. Your injury is permanent.”
Catherine was quiet for a moment.
“Dr. Harrison, what if the injury isn’t just physical? What if there’s more to healing than just fixing broken bones and damaged nerves?”
“Catherine, I understand you’re going through a difficult time, but please don’t let desperation make you believe in false hope. That little girl, no matter how sweet she is, cannot heal your paralysis.”
After Catherine hung up the phone, she felt doubt creeping into her mind. But then she remembered the feeling she had gotten when Lily touched her hand—a warm tingling sensation that she hadn’t felt in her legs since before the accident.
That afternoon, Robert took Lily to the park. Every time someone got hurt, she would run over to them, help them up, and somehow make them feel better.
“She’s special, that one,”
said a voice behind Robert. Robert turned around to see an elderly man sitting on a nearby bench.
“I’m sorry?”
Robert asked.
“Your daughter?”
the old man said, nodding toward Lily.
“I’ve been bringing my grandson to this park for 2 years, and I’ve never seen a child like her. She has what my grandmother used to call ‘the gift.’”
“The gift?”
Robert asked.
“Some people are born with the ability to heal others,”
the old man explained.
“Not with medicine or surgery, but with love and faith. My grandmother had it. She could make sick people well just by believing in them and helping them believe in themselves.”
Robert watched as Lily helped a crying boy who had scraped his knee. She knelt down beside him, whispered something in his ear, and gently touched his scraped knee. Within moments, the boy stopped crying and ran back to play with his friends.
“But is it real?”
Robert asked.
“Or do people just feel better because someone is being kind to them?”
The old man smiled.
“Does it matter if love and kindness can heal people? Isn’t that the most real magic of all?”
3 days passed and Judge Catherine found herself thinking about Lily constantly. On Thursday morning, Catherine made a decision that surprised even herself. She called Robert’s phone number.
“Hello?”
Robert answered nervously.
“Mr. Mitchell, this is Judge Catherine Westbrook,”
she said.
“I was wondering if I could speak with Lily.”
“Um, yes, your honor. She’s right here.”
“Hello, judge lady.”
Lily’s cheerful voice came through the phone.
“Hello, Lily,”
Catherine said, and she found herself smiling.
“I was wondering how you’re planning to… well, how you’re planning to help me.”
“Oh, I’m so glad you called!”
Lily said excitedly.
“I’ve been thinking about you everyday. Can you meet me somewhere so we can be friends first? It’s hard to help someone if you don’t know them very well.”
Catherine was taken aback. In all her years as a judge, no one had ever asked to be her friend before meeting in court.
“Where would you like to meet?”
Catherine asked.
“Do you know the big park on Maple Street? There’s a pond with ducks and lots of pretty flowers. Could you meet me there tomorrow at 3:00?”
Catherine looked at her calendar.
“Yes, Lily, I’ll meet you there.”
“Wonderful!”
Lily said.
“And Judge Catherine, don’t bring your judge clothes or your serious judge face. Just bring yourself. Okay?”
The next afternoon, Catherine rolled her wheelchair to the park. She found Lily sitting by the duck pond wearing a yellow sundress and feeding breadcrumbs to the ducks.
“Judge Catherine!”
Lily called out, waving enthusiastically.
“Come sit with me.”
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