A Day of Court

Age: 10

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First and only author note: These are actual memories, events in my life. They're not in any specific order so...enjoy.

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We took our seats in the court room and listened to the cases before ours. I sat between my mom and my grandma waiting for ours to be called.

The accused? My uncle Junior.

It seemed to take forever, but soon they brought him into the court room. He was dressed in all blue; he had his hands hand cuffed in front of him and his ankles as well. It wasn’t the first time I had been to court for one of my family members, and I was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

The judge started talking saying—his words now a blur to me. I sat watching my uncle, not seeing anything but him. I hear the judger asked if anyone had anything to say in his defense. My grandma stood up and stood in front of the judge. In her hand was a picture of my little cousin, Junior’s only child. She was pleading with the judge to let him come home.

I sat there and listened as tears filled my eyes and ran down my checks.

“Be quite,” my mother hissed at me.

As I tried to go quiet, the judge spoke.

“Eight years and two months.”

With that I started crying again as they took my uncle out of the court room.