Školjka

%V0 Let $n$ be a positive integer, and let $W = \ldots x_{-1}x_0x_1x_2 \ldots$ be an infinite periodic word, consisting of just letters $a$ and/or $b$. Suppose that the minimal period $N$ of $W$ is greater than $2^n$. A finite nonempty word $U$ is said to appear in $W$ if there exist indices $k \leq \ell$ such that $U=x_k x_{k+1} \ldots x_{\ell}$. A finite word $U$ is called ubiquitous if the four words $Ua$, $Ub$, $aU$, and $bU$ all appear in $W$. Prove that there are at least $n$ ubiquitous finite nonempty words. Proposed by Grigory Chelnokov, Russia