Your Name After Novels & Stories

One year later. I am standing at the window of a corner office that has my name on the door. Not the firm's name. Not a senior partner's name. Mine. Zara Mitchell — Mitchell without the Stone, because I kept my maiden name after the divorce and because the new version of us does not require me to perform a name to prove I belong in it.

Nolan smiles warily. "Alicia?"I swallow hard trying to clear my thick voice due to the constant lump in the back of my throat. "Yeah Alicia,she named her Alicia.Didn't you two decide to name your female child Alicia after you both?"Nolan's eyes sparkles when he gives me another glimpse of those days.

Cassandra shared her thoughts. “Why don’t we have both names for him, then? Gianni Wyatt Barnes. Is it okay if he can forego the Winchester family name?” Winston suggested. In Great Blackhampton, they use the mother’s maiden name as the child’s middle name and the father’s name as the child’s last name. But in Maconia, there’s the option to not use the mother’s maiden name as the child’s middle name. If there is a second name for the child, it would be considered as the middle name.

He then said, "Hey Mez, since we're a team now? erm... are we? hahaha, I just got too excited!" "Haha yes of course! I wouldn't have it any other way, so Julian, what sort of name do you want?" "Hmm... something that rhymes with yours, you know, so we sound like this dashing team! basically, something less formal than Juuulian you know?" "Hey, your name is nice! what do you mean less formal?"

"Do you think little L.D. will make it?" "Little L.D.?" Trey looks to me with an up turned eyebrow. I try to play it off cool, but my face turns red at being outed in my car naming game. "Yeah, I named him Lemon Drop, but it was too long so we're going with L.D." I shrug and try to wear my best "no big deal" expression. He laughs anyway. "Are all your names after food or is it a recent thing?"

She would always say with a soft sweet smile. Mama named me after her. Anya Vixenda O'Connor. .............

They were accompanied by joyful captions about shopping for baby supplies together. After that, I silently deleted all his contact information. My last day in this world happened to be my wedding anniversary with Elijah, and it was also Abigail's birthday. I ignored Elijah's instruction to attend Abigail's birthday party and instead sat alone at home. I wiped down a vase with my bare hands. It was the last gift my parents had left me and the last thing I had in this house. I held the vase and imagined talking to my parents while waiting for midnight to arrive.

She gave me an extremely gentle smile. "Congratulations, Mr. Julian Hayes. After being in a coma for a year, you finally woke up." I froze. Julian Hayes? Was that the name of this new body too? In my mind, the system quickly transmitted the information about this body. This was an orphan who had become vegetative after a car accident. By coincidence, his name was also Julian Hayes. As for my memories of Victoria, I remembered all of them. Only... I could no longer feel even the slightest trace of love.

Three days later, I entered the closed research facility under Professor Shaw’s name. The building stood on the coast, behind glass gates and a security system that did not care who Dante Russo was. My phone was replaced with an institute device, my schedule was set by medical recovery and research hours, and every outside message passed through the legal team. For the first time in years, my name appeared on a lab door instead of a hospital chart. Aria Vale. Doctoral Candidate. I stared at it for a long time.

My sister had sharp eyes and found the letter under the old pillow. Dad wiped away his tears and unfolded the paper with trembling hands. "Mom, Dad, and Heidi. By the time you see this letter, the countdown should have ended. I'm so happy I get to live with all of you. Thank you for your hard work in the last 18 years. I hope we can still be a family in my next life! Oh, right, use the money in the piggy bank to buy a toy for Heidi! Consider it an early birthday gift."