My Father Mocked Me for Coming to Court Without a Lawyer, But the Judge Opened My File and the Whole Room Went Silent

vocabulary than its own.

The morning before the hearing I woke before dawn. Not because I was nervous. Because sleep had stopped being useful around three.

I made coffee. Sat at the table. Opened the footlocker again.

I had not planned to wear the uniform. That decision arrived in the night, not as drama, just as inevitability. As if some quieter part continue reading …