“Oh, I’m so glad you called!” Lily said excitedly. “I’ve been thinking about you every day. 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 three o’clock?”
Catherine looked at her calendar. She had planned to review case files tomorrow afternoon, but something told her this was more important. “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, OK?”
The next afternoon, Catherine rolled her wheelchair to the park, feeling more nervous than she had in years. She wore a simple blue dress instead of her judge’s robes, and she had even put on a little makeup for the first time in months.
She found Lily sitting by the duck pond, wearing a yellow sundress and feeding breadcrumbs to the ducks. Robert sat on a nearby bench, watching his daughter with a mixture of love and worry.
“Judge Catherine!” Lily called out, waving enthusiastically. “Come sit with me!”
Catherine rolled her wheelchair over to the pond. Lily immediately reached into her bag and pulled out more breadcrumbs. “Here,” Lily said, pouring some breadcrumbs into Catherine’s hand. “The ducks are really hungry today.”
For the next hour, Catherine found herself doing something she hadn’t done in years. She played. She fed the ducks, listened to Lily’s stories about each duck’s personality, and even laughed when a particularly brave duck tried to climb onto her wheelchair to get more food.
“Judge Catherine,” Lily said as they watched the ducks swim around the pond. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, sweetie.”
“Before your accident, what was your favorite thing to do?”
Catherine thought for a moment. “I used to love dancing,” she said quietly. “I took ballet lessons when I was little, and even as an adult, I would dance around my house when I was happy.”
“Dancing!” Lily said, clapping her hands. “I love dancing too. Do you miss it?”
Catherine felt tears coming to her eyes. “Yes, I miss it very much.”
Lily stood up and held out her hand. “Would you like to dance with me right now?”
Catherine looked at the little girl’s outstretched hand. “Lily, I can’t dance. I can’t stand up.”
“You don’t have to stand up to dance,” Lily said with a smile. “Your arms can dance, your head can dance, your heart can dance. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Lily began to move her arms gracefully, like she was swimming through the air. She moved her head from side to side and spun around slowly. “See? I’m dancing with my whole body, but my feet are barely moving.”
Catherine watched this beautiful child dance by the pond, and something amazing happened. She found herself moving her arms in rhythm with Lily’s movements. She moved her shoulders and tilted her head, and for the first time in three years, she felt like she was dancing again.
“You’re dancing, Judge Catherine!” Lily said joyfully. “You’re dancing!”
Catherine looked down at her arms, moving gracefully through the air, and realized that Lily was right. She was dancing, not the way she used to dance, but in a new way that was beautiful and freeing.
Tears of joy rolled down Catherine’s face as she continued to move her arms and shoulders in time with Lily’s gentle movements. She felt lighter than she had in years, as if something heavy had been lifted from her heart.
“How do you feel?” Lily asked, still moving gracefully.
“I feel,” Catherine paused, trying to find the right words. “I feel alive.”
After their dance by the pond, Lily walked over to Catherine’s wheelchair and gently placed her small hands on Catherine’s knees.
“Judge Catherine,” Lily said softly, “your legs are sleeping, but they’re not broken. They’re just waiting for your heart to wake up completely.”
Catherine looked down at Lily’s hands resting on her knees. She couldn’t feel the touch, but somehow she could sense it. “What do you mean?” Catherine asked.
“When you got hurt in the car accident, your body got hurt, but your spirit got hurt too,” Lily explained. “Your spirit got so scared and sad that it kind of went to sleep. When your spirit is asleep, sometimes your body doesn’t work right either.”…
