AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Naomi
1
Naomi
Naomi Peterson drank in the sights and scents of the idyllic meadow. Dew clung to the lush grass and a gentle breeze rustled fragrant pollen from the gorgeous purple wildflowers.
Or was that something else moving in the meadow?
She pricked her ears up and lifted her snout slightly, trying to taste prey on the air.
Nothing.
But maybe…
Coiling up tightly, she flattened herself the ground.
After a breathless moment of waiting and listening for clues, she released. Her borrowed body shot straight up into the air and curved downward to pounce, snout first, into the shivering flowers.
It had only been the breeze after all. She had stirred up nothing but a cloud of pollen.
But it felt so good to pounce that she did it several more times anyway, leaping madly around the meadow in big loops as the stretch of her muscles sent waves of endorphin-laced pleasure through her.
“The scent of something refreshing wafts to you,” a disembodied voice said calmly.
Naomi caught the scent. It was cool and sweet, an irresistible siren song of deliciousness.
“Follow it, if you like,” the voice said.
Abandoning the meadow, she picked her way through the deep grasses until she reached the shadow of the trees.
It was darker here, but her clever eyes adjusted immediately. She trotted into the woods, the soil cool and soft between her paws.
As the birdsong from the meadow faded, she chased down the trail of crystalline scent, her trot breaking into a series of leaps and bounds as her small heart raced with excitement.
“Deep breaths, Naomi,” Oberon’s deep voice intoned calmly. “Slow your heart rate.”
Outside the simulation, Naomi closed her palms in her lap and opened them again very slowly, coaxing her breathing and heartbeat into slowing along with her hands.
When she first arrived at the Midsummer Fertility Center, Naomi had been so wound up that she’d had a hard time even sitting still. Hearing that her intended parent wasn’t there yet and that she would have to cool her heels for an indefinite period of time was almost unbearable.
She had taken a few days to explore the Center’s many incredible settings. It was hard to believe that the beach, the meadows, the lake, and the mountains had all been designed and created by an AI named Oberon.
It wasn’t just that the spaces were beautiful. They each seemed to evoke an emotion in Naomi that was both sweet and… lonely. And the AI himself seemed more than happy to give her endless guided tours.
But even walking the grounds couldn’t still her restlessness. Naomi had been working since she was a teenager. Relaxation wasn’t really her thing.
And besides, she had left a career tangle behind that made her uncertain if she would even have a job when she went home again. A tangle so bad she might not be able to live the rest of her life without constantly looking over her shoulder.
Add to that her excitement and fear over her reason for being here, and it was impossible for her to find peace.
Naomi had always, always wanted to be a mother.
Her home planet of Terra-58 was known for being well-organized, peaceful, powerful, and prosperous. Many people credited the matriarchal society, which ensured that women held the highest governing positions, and that all wealth was passed through the maternal line.
A woman on Terra-58 who was ready for marriage and family would use a clinic to conceive her primary heir. After that child was born, she was eligible to marry and have as many more children as she liked with her husband.
Terra-58 was a paradise compared to the other Terras, with happy adults and beloved children - all of them, not just the primary heirs.
