Lily opened her eyes and smiled at Judge Catherine’s still face. “Judge Catherine, I want you to remember something very important. 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, her voice full of love and certainty. “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. She blinked several times, looking confused and disoriented.
“Judge Catherine!” Lily said joyfully. “You’re awake!”
Catherine turned her head slowly and focused on Lily’s bright, smiling face. “Lily,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and weak. “What happened? Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital,” Dr. Harrison said, rushing to check her vital signs. “You had an accident at the park and hit your head. How do you feel?”
Judge Catherine looked around the hospital room, trying to remember. “I was at the park, feeding the ducks with Lily. And then…” she looked confused.
“Your wheelchair tipped over,” Robert said gently. “You’ve been unconscious for hours.”
Judge Catherine looked at Lily with wonder. “I was dreaming, or maybe it wasn’t a dream. I was lost in a dark place, and I heard your voice calling to me. You showed me a path made of light, and you helped me find my way back.”
Lily smiled. “It wasn’t a dream, Judge Catherine. Sometimes when people are hurt, their spirits get lost and need help finding their way home. I just helped you remember the way back to yourself.”
Dr. Harrison was checking Catherine’s responses with a small flashlight. “This is remarkable,” he said. “Judge Westbrook, can you tell me what year it is? Do you know where you are?”
Catherine answered all of his questions perfectly. Her mind was clear and sharp, with no signs of brain damage from the concussion.
“Doctor,” Judge Catherine said, “I feel different. I feel better than I have in years.”
“Well, you did have a serious head injury, so it’s normal to feel disoriented,” Dr. Harrison explained.
But Catherine shook her head. “No, that’s not what I mean. I mean, I feel better in my heart. I feel hopeful and alive and happy.” She looked at Lily with tears in her eyes. “Lily, what have you done to me?”
Lily giggled. “I didn’t do anything to you, Judge Catherine. I just helped you remember who you really are under all that sadness.”
Judge Catherine tried to sit up in bed, and Dr. Harrison helped her. As she moved, something extraordinary happened. She gasped and looked down at her legs.
“Doctor,” she said, her voice shaking with excitement. “I can feel my legs.”
Dr. Harrison looked skeptical. “Judge Westbrook, sometimes after a head injury, people think they feel things that aren’t really there.”
“No,” Catherine said firmly. “I can really feel them.” She looked at her legs under the hospital blanket and concentrated. Her right foot moved slightly.
Everyone in the room gasped….
