I think my favorite part is just the fact that you had Louise in the story. It’s already so very, very, ridiculously rare to see ANY character with a disability in fiction at ALL. And when they DO show up, 99 percent of the time (possibly I exaggerate, but not as much as I’d like) they show up in a vacuum: you would think they were the only disabled person in the world, that they never ever have any contact with any other people with disabilities, that people with disabilities never reach out to each other for solidarity or shared experiences or just exchanging tips on how to deal with the disability. And certainly never (in the overwhelming majority of fiction) in a sense of *community*.

Granted, you don’t show the rich, vibrant, and diverse disability community here … or even hint that it’s there. But, hey, for a story this short, I can’t be too fussy! It was great that it showed the protagonist making a connection with someone else with a shared experience at all. Because that doesn’t happen nearly enough in fiction rotating around characters with disabilities … and I’m guessing also not around characters with disfigurement either. People who are new to having a disability (and I would guess disfigurement) do often come to learn acceptance in part by meeting others with similar experiences and realizing that, hey, this *doesn’t* actually mean the end of the world after all … things go on … and I’ll be okay. Even for those of us who don’t have nearly the same level of struggle toward acceptance (because of having grown up with it) there is still strength in sharing common experiences, particularly stories about how other people respond and learning to see “It’s not just me who sees this, we all seem to be seeing it.” And it’s great to see that kind of connection in a piece of fiction.