Chapter 47 --47.
"No, no—you don’t have to tell me! Really! I just—I mean, you asked me about mine, so I thought—" he stammered, his words tangled in a knot of nerves.
Kaya stared at him... and then burst out laughing.
"Why are you acting like you just asked about my organs?" she said between laughs. "Calm down. It’s just a name."
Relieved but still sheepish, Bunny let out a small laugh of his own. Kaya leaned back on her hands, gazing at the fire before speaking again, this time more thoughtfully.
"So, where do I start... right. I was originally named something else. Caroline."
She said the name like it left a bitter taste.
"It was given by my parents, who—let’s just say—weren’t exactly fans of me. And as I grew up and started working, that name started to grate on me. There were just too many Carolines around. It was like being stuck in a copy-paste file."
Bunny nodded quietly, listening.
"Then one day, my captain—tough woman, but heart of gold—suggested a name. Said it came from her grandmother’s culture. She was from the Asia region. You might not know much about it, but..." Kaya paused, then smiled faintly. "The name she gave me was ’Kaya.’ It means ’shadow.’ And honestly? It fits. For my work, my world... and me."