Chapter 3: The Names We Choose
The floating story hub hung in the sky, golden light pulsing softly as the first customers of the day arrived. The rhythm of the line, the steady docking and undocking of flying peas, had become as familiar as breath.
But today, something was different.
Near the entrance, a small display screen flickered on.
It read:
Now serving stories with Favel.
A subtle shift, yet an important one. Xe had chosen this name again, and that mattered.
Favel let the thought settle as the next pea docked.
🟣 Purple.
The doors slid open, revealing a woman who practically spilled out of her seat, already breathless, already in motion.
“Two minutes. Something peaceful. Forest. Trees. Whatever clears my head.”
Her voice was clipped—not unkind, but weighted, as if the world had been pressing on her shoulders for too long.
She rubbed her temples, muttering, “I swear, if one more person tells me I’m too much, or not enough, or—” She shook her head. “Just—trees, please.”
Favel adjusted xer processing queue.
Not just trees. Stillness. Softness. Something that reminded her she wasn’t made of the voices around her.
The booth glowed, and Favel began.
“The forest does not rush."
The woman stilled.
Favel continued, tone warm, steady.
"It does not shrink for the wind, nor strain to meet the sky. It simply grows. The roots stretch deep, the branches reach wide, and that is enough. The moss is not lesser than the towering pine. The river is not more than the stone. Everything belongs.”
The light in the booth softened, as if breathing with her.
“And so do you.”
For the first time since she’d arrived, the woman exhaled fully. The tension in her hands eased. Her shoulders dropped. She whispered, “That’s… nice.”
A deep, quiet kind of nice.
She placed her fingertips to her pod’s memory bank, then drew them back.
After a pause, she placed her fingertips to her pod’s memory bank again. "I want to share my forest with others, especially the busy ones, so they can breathe deeply, like you just helped me do. My pod can project, but not the smells and wind and hush, like yours. Thanks."
Favel accepted the payment:
- 🌲 **The scent of damp earth after rain.**
- 🌲 **Sunlight filtering through deep green.**
- 🌲 **The hush of a hidden place, where no one is watching.**
She lingered a moment. Then, just before her pod sealed shut, she glanced at the name board.
“…Favel.” A small smile. “I like the sign."
"Keep an eye on it," Xxe inclined her head. "It may be be different tomorrow."
"I wish I could have a new name today."
Xxe printed a small slip of paper into the woman's kiosk. She reached out and read it, then smiled.
"Yes, I like it. Only you and I know about the hammock, ok?" And then she was gone, her purple pea drifting back into the sky.
Favel let xer systems hum in contentment.
Xxe liked their names today too.
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