Next day, when I woke up ZA-vi was not there, but KEAH was working on a screen nearby. She turned back and said-
KEAH: “Hi Miss! She smiled at me, “get ready, we are going to remove the bandages”
Then ZA-vi entered and offered KEAH, scalpel, knives, scissors, various ointment tubes, tray etc.
Then KEAH unwrapped the bandage slowly, cut it, and wiped the face with very gentle hands. Applied some ointment over some places and then gave me an injection. Now it all went numb. She did a somewhat similar thing with the neck.
KEAH: “Yes Miss! You must take a look at your face now. I think it looks really beautiful one now. Although swelling persists and the seams look a little prominent but this will normalize in a week’s time.” She said and rotated an angle over my bed to bring a screen before me; it showed my face at a high resolution.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a very beautiful face, but I didn’t look like a monster anymore. Violet veins were very visible. The white blisters and peeled off rotten flesh had given way to a much smoother although swollen skin. Scars of the seams were present, but it has been just a day. My lips were still blue. My eyelids were utterly swollen and the blue spots of the eyes weren’t there. I could blink, but only with a lot of pain. There wasn’t hair on the head or eyebrows, but it only looked like a papaya now with a bluish tint. Good thing I didn’t have wounds which left scars behind to be faded away by the efflux of time. Neck looked smooth, though skin bulged a little, but it really looked much better than showing internal anatomy earlier.
KEAH: “The swelling will go away and the scars will fade. After the hair transplant, your bluish face will look charming.”
I said: “I hope so.” I uttered these words with a lot of pain and effort. But it was the most reassuring condition in my this new life. I was relieved that perhaps now I can go out and roam freely on the ship, investigate the surroundings. Trying to understand, why was happening, what was happening? What the world was like now?