the Stars, a Secret Blooms: You swallowed hard, sitting up. “No.”

“You’re hungry.”

You said nothing.

Brahve stood slowly and moved to a small table. Without a word, they placed a bowl in front of you—something warm, fragrant, filled with glowing grains and floating slices of a fruit you couldn’t name. Your stomach growled before your mouth could speak.

“Eat,” Brahve said. “I won’t throw you into space.”

You stared. “Why?”

A pause. Then, with a faint smile: “Because even the stars hide secrets. And I respect the ones brave enough to seek them.”

You ate. In silence. Under the watch of a sentient plant and a being far more enigmatic than you could ever be.

And for the first time in a long while, you didn’t feel like a mistake.

You felt…found.