The first time people stand again, they don't announce it.
They test the ground with their feet, like they're unsure the floor will hold.
After the boy found his aunt, the city didn't erupt into noise or applause. It did something stranger—it rearranged. Chairs slid a few inches back. Circles loosened. Conversations bled into motion.
No one asked if it was allowed.
No one stopped them.
Arjun watched it happen with something like disbelief."They didn't sit back down," he said.
"No," I replied."They remembered why they stood in the first place."
✦
The facilitators felt it immediately.
Not as defiance.
As loss of gravity.
People still listened when spoken to—but they no longer orbited. They moved while listening. Helped while talking. Asked questions without waiting for turns.
Care regained legs.
The other Ishaan aligned, voice quiet and approving.
Standing returns first as coordination, he said.Not as protest.
✦
