Mindy glanced down at where her thighs used to be then back at the pamphlet sitting on the desk. “Ten percent off you say?” She rubbed her hands together and blew warm air through her wet fingers, side-eyeing the snow that still clung to the rubber tires of her wheelchair.
The nice receptionist nodded with the insides of her eyebrows turned up sympathetically, a look Mindy had grown used to since losing her legs. A blast of cool winter air rushed by as another customer pushed out through the doors into the treacherous, snow-covered wasteland outside.
“But…” Mindy’s heart skipped a beat and trembled excitedly. “What if I want something other than what used to be there?”
The receptionist grinned and reached over to pat Mindy on the arm. “Dear, you tell us what you want, and our team of bio-engineers and scientists will make it happen. At Beauty-Tech, we make your vision of beauty a reality.” Despite the obvious corporate insincerity attached to the slogan, there was genuine warmth behind the woman’s words.
Mindy smiled politely then looked back down at the pamphlet. It didn’t have much information she hadn’t already read ad nauseum on their website. She had most of the details memorized. The one thing this glossy folding puzzle had that she hadn’t seen before was the prices. Even after the ten percent discount, this was going to eat up all of her savings. Especially after the gene modification upgrade.
“And is there any kind of bundle deal if I get the alternative limb regen with a gene mod?”
The receptionist’s eyes smiled knowingly. “Oh honey I think I know exactly where you’re going with this! Say no more!” She reached under her desk and produced a second pamphlet. This one was far more specialized than anything on the website. She peeled it open and presented it to Mindy as though showing her a new book of scripture, pressing her finger firmly into a section that made Mindy’s heart jump into her throat. “Is this what you have in mind?”
Mindy’s eyes bulged as she nodded slowly, staring at the incredible images adorning the space around the woman’s finger. “Why didn’t I see anything like this on your website?” Mindy whispered breathlessly.
The woman’s eyes twinkled and she leaned in close, speaking in a hushed, devious tone. “Most customers who end up selecting from this catalog want a degree of… privacy and anonymity. We don’t really talk about offering these services so that people don’t go looking for those who…” she trailed off. “Well, I think you get the idea.”
Mindy looked up at her with wide eyes and nodded quickly. “I understand.”
The receptionist swiftly retracted the secret pamphlet and stuffed it back under the desk. “You’ll understand if there’s a thorough consultation and psych eval attached to such an operation.”
Mindy nodded, lost in a trance. She couldn’t get the images out of her mind. She had always dreamed it was possible, but now she had seen actual photographs of people who had received the exact same operation she had dreamed of from childhood. They were beautiful.
“Very good. Shall I schedule the consultations then, or do you need more time to think about it?”
“I’ve been thinking about it my whole life,” Mindy sighed, tears building in her eyes. She smiled and shook her head. “Let’s schedule everything!”
Mindy bobbed up and down in the water, gazing at her discarded wheelchair on the beach. It had toppled over at the edge of the surf, with a pair of deep grooves tracing a trail in the sand that stretched all the way back to the boardwalk. Behind her, the summer sun was setting, casting long shadows behind wispy clouds. Brilliant warm colors adorned the overhead skyscape. Mindy softly kicked at the water and reclined onto her back, letting the cool water lap at the corners of her teary eyes as she gazed up at the wide, open heavens above. She took in a deep breath, feeling her new lungs grab eagerly at the fresh oxygen as her reworked cardiovascular system responded excitedly to the aquatic environment. She smiled and splashed playfully at the water, watching down past her chest as she threw massive waves of water downrange, propelling her body swiftly along the surface of the sea.
Her whole core was giddy with excitement as she twisted and dove under the waves, hugging the sandy ocean floor and kicking up a cloud of loose particles and dust that swirled in the turbulent wake of her powerful tail.
Finally she was as beautiful as she had always dreamed she could be.
Mermaid Pirate Dispatch 
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