Time passed as they prepared Mag's eye surgery. Rotti wanted to get it perfect, so that Marni wouldn't take advantage of his error and use it as an excuse to leave.
He didn't really care what happened to the blind girl...but she was Marni's friend so he didn't really have a choice.
Marni brought her in at the appointed time, and sat in the waiting room. They sat in complete silence till Mag spoke.
"I'm going to miss this darkness…"
"What do you mean?" Marni responded. "Do you not want the surgery?"
"No! No…it's just that I feel like I'm about to enter a new world, and I'm almost a little frightened." She said with a nervous chuckle.
"Don't be! The world is pretty cool."
Mag smiled wryly.
"Says the girl who thought the world was awful."
With a pan, Marni remembered that night so long ago. It was the first time…and she had gotten used to doing things like that with him. Her happy place, as crazy as it sounded, was becoming like a second home to her. Rotti expected only one thing from her, and she couldn't displease him…or else Mag would be the one to pay.
Their relationship was based purely on sex. They never really talked, and Rotti never cared what she had to say. To him, she was just a trophy to show off and polish.
She hid the pain easily with a small laugh.
"My opinion changed day to day. You can never tell what I'm going to do next."
Mag returned the grin.
"Shall your new name be Marni Spontaneous?"
The two laughed as the doors to the surgery room swung open. A pretty gentern sauntered in, holding a clipboard.
"Miss. Defoue? We're ready for you now."
With a quick, scared smile at Marni, Mag stood and the gentern took her arm. She was led into the room and was assisted in changing into a cotton hospital gown.
The shot was given, and Mag drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
It was lighter than the darkness she was used to. Her eyelids were heavy, and she struggled in vain to open them
Did the surgery fail?
With a final push, her eyelids shot open, only to be closed once more.
The light was blinding, too much for her to take. It was a searing pain, and she felt as if she had been blinded once more. That was her first impression of sight.
"She's awake." A woman's voice said.
"Mag! Mag!"
She heard Marni, and felt her take her hand. But she didn't open her eyes.
"Come on, let's see those eyes." Marni coaxed.
"…no…"
She could hear the alarm in her friend's voice.
"Why not? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. It's just…"
"What, are you afraid to see my face?"
"…yes."
"Ouch."
"It's not that I'm afraid of you…I'm afraid that what I see will be different from what I know."
Marni pondered that thought in silence for a moment, before carefully selecting her answer.
"How do you know it's different until you open your eyes and see for yourself?"
"But if it's different…"
"So what?" she argued passionately. "So what if it's different? At least you'll know. Come on…trust me on this."
Slowly, her eyes opened, the light less brilliant than before. A face, delicate and sweet, hovered above her like an angel.
"…Marni?" she asked hesitantly.
With a gasp, Marni covered her mouth.
"Those eyes…"
"What? What about them? Is something wrong?"
Marni motioned with her hand to a woman in a white outfit…probably a gentern.
"Bring me a mirror." She ordered.
The gentern nodded, slightly alarmed and confused. She rushed from the room for a moment. Marni never took her eyes off her friend.
The gentern hurriedly rushed back in, holding a small mirror. She handed it to Marni, who turned it away from Mag, hiding it against her.
"Now don't get freaked out…I mean, it's not like its bad or anything but…I mean-"
"Just give me the mirror before I change my mind."
Reluctantly, Marni handed the mirror to Mag, biting her lip in worry.
Mag took a deep breath, then took a peek. She let out a scream of horror, throwing the mirror away from her. It hit the floor, shattering.
Her hands shook, her eyes wide. Marni looked away.
"Who…what was that?"
Marni looked back to her, a little surprised.
"That was you reflection. Funny you should freak out about that of all things."
Mag gave a weak smile, and turned to the gentern, who was sweeping up the glass.
"I'm sorry. Can you being in another?"
The gentern seemed at a loss, and looked to Marni for approval. She nodded, and the gentern left the glass pile to fetch another mirror.
"How about I hold it this time?" Marni laughed.
The gentern gave Marni the mirror once more, then returned to sweeping up the shards of glass.
"Ready?" Marni asked, keeping the mirror turned away.
"No, but show me anyway." She responded with a smile.
Marni turned the mirror around, and Mag finally got a good look at herself.
In wonder, she reached up and touched her cheek, watching the woman reflected in the glass mimic her. She touched the mirror, half expecting to feel flesh, but was met with the hard, cool touch of the mirror.
She took in every detail of her face, slowly absorbing each inch of detail. Then, she reached her eyes.
Large eyes, with a strange coloring stared back, just as confused.. She looked up to Marni questioningly.
"Why are mine different from yours?"
Marni put the mirror down on the bed by Mag, sitting on the edge of the mattress.
Mag picked the mirror back up, staring at her reflection in open wonder.
"It's a fairly new procedure, so the eyes don't look like everyone else's…"
"I don't really mind I suppose…I was different when I was blind, so it makes sense that I'm different even now. At least I know what you look like."
A heavy set man entered, walking over to the bed.
"…who are you?" she asked guardedly.
"I see the surgery was successful!" he declared.
She recognized the voice right away. So this was what Rotti Largo actually looked like. She couldn't say he was surprised. She had always thought he was a slimy bastard. At least now, he looked the part. Perhaps there was justice in the world after all.
One more thing caught her eye. A twinkle on Rotti's finger drew her gaze. On the left hand sat a ring…and her eyes instantly shifted to Marni's left hand as well. On her ring finger was a matching ring. She couldn't get the words out from her throat, shocked into silence.
"You…"
"Congratulate us! We are to be married this coming spring!" Rotti said.
"But…I…isn't it spring now?"
Her head was thrown into a whirlwind of confusion. Marni could see it instantly, and turned to Rotti, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder.
"Give us a moment alone."
He nodded, pretending to understand and care. She kissed him quickly, and he with the gentern went out of the room.
Mag had to look away during the small display of affection between the two. Bile rose in her throat and she decided that she missed only one thing about being blind: not being able to see that.
Marni took Mag's hand gently. She turned back to face Marni, trying not to show her fear and disgust. She took a deep breath, and asked the heavy question.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Mag, listen to me-"
"How long have I been asleep?!" she cried.
"…you've been asleep for about one year."
She froze, going completely still.
One…year?
She realized Marni was still talking, so she tried to listen. But her voice sounded far odd, as if coming from another time. When Marni began to cry, the time seemed to crash down on her. Marni's voice began to grow louder in her mind, ringing in her ears.
"And you weren't there, so I couldn't talk to anyone at all about it! I was so lonely…and he kept asking and asking me. So, I said yes. I couldn't take it! I just couldn't take it…if you had been there, this never would have happened!"
She broke down once more, seeking comfort from her friend. For the first time, Mag felt…angry.
She…she's blaming me for getting engaged to that bastard!
She didn't want to pat her on the head and coo, like the blind her would have done. No…She just wanted to slap her across that sickeningly sweet face. She was a grown woman! She could make her own choices without bothering everyone about them.
But, she just couldn't bring herself to slap her. Marni just looked so pitiful, so she placed a hand on her friend's.
"Pardon the interruption."
The two looked up as a surgeon entered, followed by Rotti. They held a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it. Marni stood angrily when she caught sight of it.
"You promised!"
Rotti gave a snake like grin and placed an arm around her shoulders.
"If you abide by the bargain, my dear. Then there won't be any need to use the contract."
"But…"
"You, are the payment my dear. You had better make sure your friend does not go into debt."
His words were like a clamp, keeping her rooted to the floor next to him, and probably for the rest of her life.
Mag finally saw how Rotti looked at Marni, and she hated it with every fiber of her being. It filled her with hot anger, threatening to lash out and take over her.
The surgeon waved the clipboard in front of her face distracted her slightly. She signed her name without glancing at the fine print…she couldn't read, so she thought there was no need to. That would be an error later on, but no one could foresee it would be a problem. No one.
