Underneath, written in childish handwriting:
“My brother Michael — my hero.”
The judge’s hands tremble.
“Where is Emma now?” he asks softly.
“In the hospital.”
“And your mom?”
“With her.”
Michael wipes his tears.
“That’s why I came alone.”
He looks up at the judge with pleading eyes.
“Please arrest me instead.”
The judge struggles to keep his voice steady.
“Michael… you walked three hours to protect your mother.”
The boy nods.
“Emma needs her more than me.”
For a moment, the judge says nothing.
Then he turns to the deputy.
“Contact the store owner immediately.”
“And bring Michael’s mother here.”
Michael panics.
“No! If she comes here you’ll arrest her!”
The judge shakes his head.
“No, son. I promise you… we’re going to find another way.”
Forty-five minutes later, a thin exhausted woman rushes into the courtroom.
“MICHAEL!”
She runs to him and hugs him tightly.
“Why are you here? What did you do?”
She looks up at the judge in fear.
“My son had nothing to do with the robbery,” she says.
“I did it.”
Judge Caprio nods quietly.
“I know.”
Then the store owner arrives.
A sixty-year-old immigrant named Mr. Chen.
The judge tells him the entire story.
When he finishes, the man sits silently for a moment.
Then he looks at Rosa.