Chapter 11 - Nora's Voice
The judge’s chambers were lined with leather-bound legal tomes, but on the low coffee table, Judge Morales had placed a plate of chocolate chip cookies and colored markers.
Nora sat on the oversized leather sofa, her legs dangling, holding her carved wooden seagull in both hands.
"Hello, Nora," Judge Morales said gently, taking off her judicial robes and hanging them on a coat tree. She sat in the armchair opposite the girl. "Do you know who I am?"
"You're the referee," Nora said softly.
Judge Morales chuckled warmly. "That’s a very good way to put it. Yes, I make sure everyone plays by the rules."
"Grandma doesn't like rules," Nora observed, looking down at the wooden bird. "She likes her rules, but not other people’s."
Judge Morales leaned forward. "Tell me about living with your grandma."
Nora was quiet for a long moment. She picked up a purple marker, drawing a tiny circle on a piece of paper, then another inside it, and another, until the center was completely blacked out.
"In the big house, I have to be quiet," Nora murmured. "If I make a mess, Grandma locks my toys in the cellar. When my chest hurts, she says I’m being dramatic. She told me if I cried, Mommy would go away because nobody likes a noisy girl."
"And at the apartment by the water?"
May you like
Nora’s face brightened, her eyes clearing. "Mommy reads to me until I fall asleep. When I can’t breathe, she hugs me and counts to ten until the medicine works. And Mr. Calum lets me feed the pelicans. We don't have a big yard, but Mommy says the whole ocean is our yard."
Judge Morales looked at the drawing of concentric circles, her expression softening into profound clarity. "Thank you, Nora. You did wonderfully."
