“Judge Catherine needs us now more than ever. Her spirit was just starting to wake up and now it’s scared again. But don’t worry, sometimes the biggest miracles happen when things look the most impossible.”
The hospital waiting room was filled with worried voices. Dr. Harrison came through the double doors with a serious expression.
“How is she, doctor?”
Robert asked.
“Judge Westbrook hit her head when her wheelchair tipped over near the pond. She has a serious concussion and has been unconscious for the past 2 hours.”
Robert felt like the world was spinning.
“Is she going to be okay?”
asked Mrs. Henderson.
“We’re doing everything we can,”
Dr. Harrison said.
“But head injuries can be very unpredictable. The next 24 hours will be critical. She needs to wake up soon or…”
Lily looked calm and determined.
“Doctor,”
Lily said in her clear voice.
“Can I see Judge Catherine, please?”
Dr. Harrison knelt down to Lily’s level.
“Little girl, Judge Westbrook is very sick right now. She can’t have visitors.”
“But I promise to help her,”
Lily said simply.
“And she needs me right now more than ever.”
“Lily, sweetheart, maybe we should wait until the doctor says it’s okay,”
Robert said.
But Lily shook her head.
“Daddy, remember what I told you about Judge Catherine’s spirit being asleep? Well, now it’s not just asleep, it’s lost. The accident scared her spirit so much that it doesn’t know how to find its way back to her body. I need to help guide it home.”
“Doctor,”
said a familiar voice from behind them. Everyone turned to see David Chun, the prosecutor.
“I heard about Judge Westbrook’s accident on the radio. I came because…”
he paused,
“because I wanted to apologize.”
“Apologize for what?”
Robert asked.
“For not believing,”
David said quietly.
“I’ve seen Judge Westbrook handle hundreds of cases, and I’ve never seen her make an emotional decision. Something about your daughter made her willing to take a leap of faith. If Judge Westbrook believed in you, then maybe I should, too. Doctor, isn’t there some way this child can see the judge?”
Dr. Harrison looked conflicted.
“Even if I wanted to allow it, Judge Westbrook is unconscious. She wouldn’t even know the child was there.”
“But I would know,”
Lily said firmly.
“And Judge Catherine’s spirit would know too, even if her sleeping body doesn’t.”
“5 minutes,”
Dr. Harrison said finally.
“The child can have 5 minutes with Judge Westbrook. But that’s all, and there have to be adults with her.”
Dr. Harrison led them to the intensive care unit. Judge Catherine lay in the hospital bed. Tubes and wires connected her to various machines.
“She looks so peaceful,”
Lily whispered, walking up to the bed without any fear.
Lily climbed up onto a chair beside the bed. She gently placed her small hand on Catherine’s arm.
“Hello, Judge Catherine,”
Lily said softly.
“I know you can’t hear me with your ears right now, but I’m hoping you can hear me with your heart. I know you’re scared. When you fell down at the park, it reminded you of your car accident, didn’t it? It made you remember how scary it was when your body got hurt, and now your spirit is hiding again.”
Dr. Harrison watched in amazement.
“But Judge Catherine, I need you to remember something important,”
Lily said.
“Do you remember how it felt when we were dancing by the duck pond? Do you remember how light and happy you felt? That happiness is still inside you. It’s just hiding because it’s scared.”
Lily closed her eyes and placed both of her small hands on Judge Catherine’s arm. The room seemed to fill with a warm golden light.
“Can you see the path, Judge Catherine?”
Lily whispered.
“It’s made of all the beautiful memories you’ve forgotten. There’s the memory of you dancing as a little girl. There’s the memory of your first day as a judge. There’s the memory of us feeding the ducks and laughing together.”
Dr. Harrison looked at the monitors. Her heart rate, which had been slow and irregular, began to steady and strengthen.
“That’s it!”
Lily said encouragingly.
“You’re following the path back to the light. You’re remembering who you really are. Not just a judge in a wheelchair, but a whole person full of love and hope and dreams.”
Judge Catherine’s fingers began to twitch slightly.
“She’s responding,”
Dr. Harrison whispered in amazement.
“Judge Catherine, I want you to remember something very important,”
Lily said.
“Your accident didn’t take away your ability to dance. It just changed the way you dance. And your wheelchair didn’t make you less of a person. It just gave you a different way to move through the world.”
Judge Catherine’s eyelids began to flutter.
“Come back to us, Judge Catherine,”
Lily said.
“Come back because the world needs you. Come back because you have so much more dancing to do. Come back because miracles are real and you’re about to be part of the most beautiful miracle of all.”
Suddenly, Judge Catherine’s eyes opened.
“Judge Catherine!”
Lily said joyfully.
“You’re awake!”
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