Free Numb by Viola Grace

Chapter One
     
     
    Gala Golden wiped the counter down with care. The scars on her hands made her scowl, but she kept to her routine.
    She had to wait twenty minutes before she could go to her follow-up appointment at the Volunteer Centre or she would be too early.
    “Gala, aren’t you getting ready?” Miriam West was the owner of the coin shop and her employer.
    Gala nodded. “I have twenty extra minutes. I don’t want to get there too early.”
    Her movements were careful, and she kept an eye on what she was doing. If she could feel pain, she would know when to stop applying pressure, but she couldn’t, so she had to watch her own skin for indicators.
    “Better too early than too late. Go, get yourself some coffee and head to your meeting.”
    Gala nodded and put the cloth and glass cleaner away. She pulled on her coat and put on her gloves, exchanging her clear lenses for sunglasses. She flexed to make sure that she didn’t have an injury that she could not feel in her fingers, and when everything moved properly, she headed out of the shop.
    “See you later, Miriam!”
    Gala kept her hands at her sides and walked the six blocks to the Volunteer Centre. She checked in at the front desk and waited.
    “Ms. Golden? Would you come with me please?”
    She kept her leather gloves on and followed the man to a comfortable office in the rear of the centre.
    He held the door open for her and asked, “May I get you some tea?”
    “Um. All right.”
    The man smiled politely and left her alone in the comfortable chair.
    Gala loosened her jacket, but she left the covering on her hands. They embarrassed her and had embarrassed her family until they decided that putting her in a medical facility was the only way she was going to make it to adulthood.
    The visits had grown less and less frequent as the years went on, and her scars had built up every time she snagged a finger or lost track of where a car door was. Her hands were damaged beyond what was considered socially acceptable.
    The rest of her body had suffered similar damage, but her hands were the part she couldn’t easily hide.
    A small person in a snazzy tunic and trousers came in. “Good afternoon, Ms. Golden. Are you warm enough?”
    “Yes, thank you.”
    “You don’t want to remove your jacket? Your gloves?”
    She flexed her hands and hid them in her lap. “No, I am fine.”
    “Well then. Ah, here is the tea.”
    The man who escorted her in brought a tea tray, and the small silver man poured two cups, handing her one. She took the tea with a smile. “Thank you.”
    She took a sip and set the cup in the saucer. Her mouth didn’t close in a normal position.
    Her host cursed and quickly opened a small container on the tray and dumped it into the tea. “Drink that.”
    She tried to sip it, but only a small bit ended up in her mouth. Apparently, it was enough.
    “I do apologise, but I had to test you. We have many applicants claiming pervasive injuries and genetic damage that does not exist. I had to be sure that you were telling the truth.”
    She nodded and sipped again. “It is fine. It isn’t the first time that someone has tested to see if I could feel anything. Usually, it ends up with someone stabbing me or breaking my fingers.”
    Gala put down the tea on the table. “So, what was in my cup?”
    “A mild acid. It was just enough to cause pain and swelling.”
    “Oh, good. Nothing dangerous.”
    He sighed. “May we begin again? My name is Recruiter Norz, and I would like to offer you an opportunity to live a normal life...sort of.”
    She blinked. “Sort of?”
    “There is a world who needs a physical Avatar. Its previous Avatar has passed on and it needs a new body. We are assured that if you are interested, the connection could make you feel. He would also repair the damage to your body. All scars and broken bones would be healed without a trace. You would be able to start again with a solid body, and the price would be sharing your mind with