Justin’s mouth falls open in shock as Master Mind tells him what happened when Joy tried to ride the magic carpet to the roof while wounded. 

“Okay. Okay. Okay. You,” he points at Joy. “Never do that! Listen to adults for a change! When we tell you it’s dangerous, it’s dangerous! Grandma and Grampa know more about that because they’ve lived longer! You should listen to them! Got it!” 

Joy looks down, but doesn’t answer. Justin doesn’t wait for a response. “Master Mind, good job not listening to her once she fell off the roof. I don’t trust her to listen to me so you have complete authority from me to never let her do something that can open this wound or any other wound! Got it?” 

Master Mind nods. Joy harrumphs. 

“Yeah, this is done,” Justin tells her. “You could have died. You’re going to be off your legs for a couple of weeks at least.” 

“You said one week!” 

“And you didn’t stay put for five minutes! So it’s done. That’s what we’re doing and he’s my enforcer. Subject closed. Now tell me what did you say happened to Madelyn?” 

This time we don’t talk together. Suzy and I look at each other. She tells Justin what happened. 

“Ohhhkay. Okay,” he says. He sits on his knees next to Joy. “You wanted to help her. I understand that. But we can’t tell anyone if their body is good or bad. We can’t. Our opinion doesn’t matter. It’s her body. She is the only person in the world who can make choices about her body. Do you understand?” 

“But she wants legs! It hurt her when she lost her legs!”

Justin nods. “It did hurt her when she lost her legs. I’m sure that if you asked her then she would have wanted her legs back. But time has passed. And the dream is not the waking world. In the waking world she will still have no legs. You’re not really giving her legs. And even if you did, maybe she realized that having no legs helped her grow, helped make her a better person. Maybe she wants to be that better person even at the cost of her legs. We can’t make choices for other people’s bodies. You can’t make that choice for other people without permission. And no one can make a choice about your body without your permission.”

“That’s right,” Suzy whispers. 

“Do you understand?” Justin asks. 

Joy nods. 

“Okay. Good.” 

“That is a good explanation,” Madelyn says. Suzy, Justin and I turn around to see her hovering with her super wheelchair outside the porch. 

She jumps out and stands on the porch. “I do not hate you, Zhoy. You thought you were helping, I understand. But I need the legs off my body before I wake up. Justin, I can’t do it myself. I need you to cut off my legs!” 

Justin’s jaw drops yet again. “I’m sorry?” 

(To be continued…)

—Told by Grampa Walt