The Order to Remember

“This is how it became permanent,” Claire said.

Daniel read the bottom line. “The order could be reviewed when Lena turned eighteen.”

“It was never reviewed.”

“Because the file disappeared.”

Mara looked at the clerk's desk. “Because the family asked the court to forget.”

The clerk's model appeared behind the desk.

It wore Claire's mother's face.

“The order preserved the household,” it said.

“It preserved a burden,” Claire answered.

“A burden can become a bond.”

“Only when both people agree.”

Lena's child model stood beside the witness box.

“I never agreed.”

The order began to tear itself.

The clerk's model raised its hand.

“The patient is not authorized to withdraw.”

Rowan stepped into the box.

“I withdraw.”

The courtroom shook.

The judge's seal cracked down the middle.