Meanwhile, across town, Robert was making breakfast for Lily in their small apartment. He watched his daughter eat her cereal, amazed by how calm she seemed.
“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 5-year-old face.
“Remember when Mrs. Henderson hurt her back last month and she couldn’t get out of bed?”
Robert nodded.
“Remember how I asked if I could visit her? And you said yes. 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.
“And remember when Tommy Peterson from down the hall broke his arm?”
Lily asked.
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,”
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