An offering of flash fiction where an ambitious, inquisitive youngster sets her sights and ambitions on the status quo…
by: Frederick Foote
When Cara was 14, she said, “Daddy, I’m going to be a lawyer just like you.”
I replied, “I’m flattered but why do you want to practice law?”
“Because without the law we would be lawless. We would be practicing to perfection our ruthless ways.”
“Amen! You are a poet. But some say that laws are the invisible chains that the powerful use to enslave the masses.”
“But the masses have the numbers to change the laws to work for them, right?”
“Not in a kingdom, or a theocracy, or a dictatorship, or even in a corrupt democracy.”
“Daddy, I’m talking about here in the nation we hold dear.”
“Oh, I misunderstood you. You mean the U.S.A. that incorporated slavery into its Constitution and made it the law of the land.”
“To quote my favorite attorney, ‘There is no human endeavor that leans close to perfection.’”
“Your source for that quote is obscure and further from perfection than most. But if you were an attorney during the age of slavery, you would be an officer of the court and sworn to support the laws maintaining it.”
“Ah, but I would have the right to challenge any law, and I would chop away at slavery like George Washington did the cherry tree.”
“My, my, you talk a bunch of mess, girl. But laws that penalize and criminalize being Black or non-white, gay, female, poor, or homeless are the very perfection of the ruthless ways that you mentioned.”
“Okay, Daddy, thank you for summing up the reasons I want to be a lawyer…I want to fight those injustices in the law.”
“Cara, my wonderful one. You are too tough for TV and way too tough for me. If we cross swords in the courts, take it easy on me. I will be an old man.”
“Ha, you are setting me up to make me feel sorry for you. I never will. You’re too slippery and sly and will skate right by me if I give you a half a chance.”
“You are too wise for your years. Just remember the law is only one tool in your toolbox. You’ve got a lot of others, and if you’re going to change the laws, you need to learn to use them.”
“You want me to rally the masses?”
“I don’t want you to be a one-dimensional agent of change.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it….old man.”
That was 25 years ago. Today we crossed swords. I was as slippery and sly as I could be, but I didn’t skate by her. I’ve never been prouder.
Frederick K. Foote, Jr. was born in Sacramento, California, and educated in Vienna, Virginia, and northern California. Since 2014 Frederick has published over three hundred stories, poems, and essays, including literary, science fiction, fables, and horror genres. Frederick has published three short story collections, For the Sake of Soul (2015), Crossroads Encounters (2016), and The Maroon Fables and Revelations (2020).
