Suzanne sat surrounded by computer interface devices that she really wished that she didn't need.  She drew on her old Wacom pad, using her left hand to monitor her work on a tactile output pad.  On occasion, she would type on an ordinary keyboard or run a hand over her braille output pad.

Brian softly padded up to her room, intent on surprising her.  She knew that he had recently been discharged from the army, but didn't really believe that he would come back to see her.  She had been disappointed by so many of her friends.

After that pack of dogs tore her limb from limb and literally chewed her face off, her friends somehow couldn't relate to her anymore.  Or, more accurately, she could no longer go out with them and participate in the activities that she used to enjoy.  Sure, they came to visit from time to time, but it was more a duty than an enjoyable activity for them.

She heard him walk softly through the door and turned her mangled eyeless face toward him.

"Suzanne?"

"No!  Don't look at me," she cried.

He rushed over to and held her -- carefully avoiding the still tender scars.  "I won't abandon you," he said.  "I promised to never let you go, and I keep my promises."  He kissed her, heedless of her scarred and mangled flesh.

She started balling.  "I don't want you to see me like this!  I want you to remember me like I was."

He wanted to say, "You're still you.  I love the you that's inside," but he knew that she had heard enough of those platitudes.  Even if it was from the heart, it would sound hollow to her.

"Come on, girl.  Let's go for a ride."

She wanted to protest, but she kinda melted when his strong arms picked her up and cradled her.  The hard shell that she had built around her heart crumbled just a bit.  She put her arms around his neck and silently wept as he carried her to his car and strapped her in.  "I missed you," he said as he drove toward the mall.

He parked the car, got out, and opened the passenger door.

"You'll have to carry me," she said.  "You didn't give me time to pick up my crutches.

"It'll be my pleasure," he said.

He picked a marble out of the bag that sat by the stick shift and placed it in her hand.  "Here, hold this."

"What for?"

"You'll see."

He picked her up and carried her toward the Venn Machines.  "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Venn Machines," he said.  "My buddy Jimbo got his face blown off by an IED.  The machine fixed him."

"I heard about them, but I heard that the door won't close if you can't operate it.  Nobody even thought to try it for me."

"I thought to try it," Brian said.

He carried her over to the machine and guided her hand to the slot so that she could drop the marble in.

"I see something!" she gasped.  "I see these symbols, but everything else is black."

"See that symbol that looks like the Earth going around the sun?  Press it three times."

She looked at it in wonder, then followed his instructions.  She vaguely felt something change -- air currents or something.  Brian carried her and deposited her on to her one good leg, leaning against the corner near the interface.  He went into the other side and the doors disappeared.

"Perfect health," he said, then tapped the interface.  A good facsimile of her previous healthy self was displayed.

Suzanne gasped when the interface lit up.  In the center, she could see Brian, more handsome than ever with his military toned body.  He was talking to and touching the interface.

"Big cornflower blue eyes."  Tap.  "Long, blond hair."  Tap, tap.  "Well tanned."  Tap.  "Curvy dancer's body."  Tap, tap, tap, tap...

"You can change me, too," he said with a grin.

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked.

"We all have our preferences.  When the door opens and you see the real world for the first time in months, I want you to look at me and like what you see.

"I think you look awesome as it is, but here goes..."

"Say, 'perfect health,' and start choosing the images you like from the smaller circles.  The machine will understand most verbal commands."

He called up a blue sun dress that matched her eyes, then added a smattering of colorful flowers.  He snickered when he heard her shyly mumble "well hung."

"If you want to see what is under my clothes, say, 'exploded view.'"

She blushed, then did it.

After he was satisfied with the changes, he said, "Press the green circle when you're done."

As soon as the door disappeared, he jumped out and danced over to her side.  She turned from the interface, ran to him, and gave him a tackle hug.

"I used to like going to sleep so I could dream of seeing again.  Then I would wake up and everything would be black."

He wrapped his arms around her, lifted her up, and spun her in a circle, making her dress flare out.  He carried her to the mirror and set her on her feet, facing it.  "Do you like what you see?  Because if you don't, I have lots more marbles."

"You don't mind l use them all?"

"You always did make me lose my marbles," he said with a smile.