Belle nodded. "Terrified."
"Good," Marcy said, handing her a microphone. "Means you care."
Inside, nearly 60 people filled the chairs. Some she recognized. Mrs. Shipley from the HOA board, now off the board and seated with a pen in hand. Mr. Fry in his usual cardigan. Marcy's teenage daughter holding a notebook with folded corners. Even Mr. Irwin, the same man who had once glared at her mailbox like it didn't belong, sat in the back with his arms crossed but his eyes forward.
And at the front, standing with quiet confidence, was Aisha from Justice in Place. She welcomed everyone with grace and control, her voice rising just enough to be heard clearly, her presence like a lighthouse.
"We are here," Aisha said, "because silence has never kept a community safe. It has only kept it convenient for some. Today is not about blame. It is about beginning."
Belle's turn came after three other speakers. One shared how her child had been followed home by a neighbor for walking too slowly. Another, a white father, confessed that he used to worry when unfamiliar faces appeared in the park and only recently asked himself why.
When Belle stepped forward, the microphone didn't shake in her hands. She thought it might, but it didn't.