“Lily,” Robert said carefully, sitting down across from her. “Sweetie, about what you promised the judge yesterday…”
“I know, Daddy,” Lily said between spoonfuls of cereal. “You’re worried because you can’t see my gift yet. But don’t worry. It’s going to work.”
Robert felt his heart skip a beat. “What do you mean ‘your gift’? Lily, you’ve never healed anyone before.”
Lily looked at her father with those wise green eyes that seemed too old for her five-year-old face. “Remember when Mrs. Henderson hurt her back last month and she couldn’t get out of bed?”
Robert nodded. Their elderly neighbor had thrown out her back and been bedridden for a week.
“Remember how I asked if I could visit her and you said yes?” Lily continued. “I held her hand and told her a story about a magic garden where all the flowers could sing. The next day, her back felt all better.”
Robert’s eyes widened. He did remember that Mrs. Henderson had gotten better unusually quickly, but he had just thought she was lucky.
“And remember when Tommy Peterson from down the hall broke his arm?” Lily asked.
Robert remembered. Their neighbor’s eight-year-old son had fallen off his bicycle and broken his arm badly. The doctors said it would take six 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 three weeks instead of six.”
Robert stared at his daughter, his mind racing. Could it be possible? Had Lily really been healing people without him noticing?
“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. His five-year-old daughter was talking about things that sounded like advanced psychology or spiritual healing. “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 and the strange feeling she had gotten when the little girl touched her hand.
Catherine had been to dozens of doctors over the past three 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, but something about Lily made her wonder if there were things beyond medical possibility.
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?”
Dr. Harrison sighed. “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. Maybe Dr. Harrison was right. Maybe she was being foolish. 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. He watched as she played on the swings, her laughter filling the air like music. Other children played nearby, and Robert noticed something he had never paid attention to before.
Whenever a child fell down or started crying, other kids would usually ignore them or run away. But not Lily. Every time someone got hurt, she would run over to them, help them up, and somehow make them feel better. She would whisper something in their ear, give them a hug, or just hold their hand until they stopped crying.
“She’s special, that one,” said a voice behind Robert. Robert turned around to see an elderly man sitting on a nearby bench. He had kind eyes and a gentle smile.
“I’m sorry?” Robert asked.
“Your daughter,” the old man said, nodding toward Lily. “I’ve been bringing my grandson to this park for two years, and I’ve never seen a child like her. She has what my grandmother used to call ‘the gift’.”
“The gift?” Robert asked, sitting down next to the man.
“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 real magic of all?”
Three days passed, and Judge Catherine found herself thinking about Lily constantly. She had tried to return to her normal routine, but everything felt different now. She caught herself exercising her arms more, eating healthier foods, and even smiling at people she met on the street.
On Thursday morning, Catherine made a decision that surprised even herself. She called Robert’s phone number, which she had gotten from the court files.
“Hello?” Robert answered nervously.
“Mr. Mitchell, this is Judge Catherine Westbrook,” she said. “I was wondering if I could speak with Lily.”
Robert was quiet for a moment, probably wondering if this was some kind of trap. “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 just from hearing the child’s voice. “I was wondering how you’re planning to, well, how you’re planning to help me.”..
