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Marta awoke to a familiar cry in her and Emil's dark bedroom. As she started to get up, she felt her husband stir, apparently doing the same.
"You know that's a hungry cry. Thank you, but I'm still the only one who can help there. Besides, you have work in the morning," Marta told him as she patted his shoulder. It was amazing that Emil even got time off to be with Marta and their baby, let alone a whole month of it, but he was still expected back at the Aselia Union. Marta herself was given a year to be with Sophia. Receiving paid time off to be with a new child was something unheard of in Sylvarant. Granted, Marta was only given a small stipend during the year, and she was kept abreast of any major developments at the Union. She and Emil would have to work out a schedule and likely have to hire someone to care for the baby when they both had to work, but they still had time to settle on any such decisions.
At six months old, Sophia only sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, let alone woke up hungry. She was a good baby, but even she didn't always stay asleep until morning. Emil would usually try to be the first to tend to the crying baby, especially late at night, to let Marta stay in bed. It was sweet of him to react to cries he knew Sophia needed Marta for.
Marta stood up, then turned on an oil lamp to dimly illuminate the room. Despite how dark it was, she knew the decor intimately, from the location of the furniture to the placement of the figurines of Emil, Ratatosk, Tenebrae, and herself on the dresser. It was almost odd that it was a recent familiarity. This house was Marta's childhood home, but it had to be rebuilt after the monster tree destroyed Palmacosta almost a decade ago, so it wasn't exactly the same as before. Marta soon made her way to their daughter's crib, lifted her out, then carried her to a nearby chair to nurse her.
It had been six months, a half-a-year, since Marta gave birth to their darling girl. Even though the young parents knew to expect it, they were astonished at how quickly she grew. It seemed that each day, she came to resemble Emil and Marta more and more. With Marta's hair, Emil's eyes, skin tone a shade lighter than her father's, and a mixture of facial features from both her parents, Sophia was like a perfect blend of the young couple. Marta wondered if whatever god, spirit, or force of nature that decided a person's appearance before their birth wanted Sophia to strike an exact balance between the two.
Although she would have been perfect if she looked nothing like them. Sophia was perfect because she was here with them at that moment.
Many changes came starting at or around her sixth month, as they discovered. Sophia could turn herself over, which was why she now slept in a crib. The baby could move her arms, legs, and head more purposefully. She could sit up for a few minutes at a time without support. She may start to crawl soon, which would both be amazing and terrifying. They would have to make sure she didn't hurt herself or put anything she could crawl to into her mouth. She already did that with objects within her reach like toys, blankets, and Emil's scarf whenever he wore one. They also started to have her sample some solid foods such as pureed vegetables and fruit and grain mush, although she still needed mother's milk.
Perhaps most amazingly, Sophia smiled and laughed deliberately. She had done both before, but the actions seemed spontaneous, like how she moved her limbs as a newborn. It delighted the baby when someone played with her, or laughed and smiled with her. It wouldn't be much longer until Sophia's teeth started to come in, said her first words, started to walk, and started going to school. Perhaps Marta was getting a little ahead of herself, but children really did grow so fast.
Once Sophia had her fill, Marta laid her back down in her crib to sleep. Before the mother could take many steps back to her bed, the baby started to cry again.
"What's the matter, Sweetie?" Marta asked after she picked the infant back up. She gently rocked her child, telling her "you're okay" and "Mommy's here." It was rare that Sophia still needed to be soothed to go back to sleep, but it was something that happened to most, if not all babies, from what Marta heard.
When it seemed the rocking was not enough, Marta glanced out a window. She couldn't see either of the two moons, but the midnight blue sky was clear and full of brilliants points of light. It was not as if the window were big enough for her to see the whole sky, but she recalled that it would be a double new moon that night.
A moonless starry night, Marta thought. With two moons, the night sky of this new-old world was often brighter than it was before Sylvarant and Tethe'alla became one. It took some time for people to figure out the phases. Both moons were absent for about two days every three or so months. Some people found new moons unsettling, but Marta liked how these nights made the stars seem to shine brighter.
An old memory came to the young woman, a nostalgic song she hadn't thought of in many years. Marta had been singing songs to Sophia since before she was born and the baby seemed to like them. She found that she could still remember the lyrics.
"Face to the sea, I hear the wind calling me to truth.
Close your eyes and dream beneath the warmth of skies of blue."
She wasn't sure if the song was a lullaby, as she heard an upbeat instrumental version of it once at a festival. With lyrics, it was meant to be sung in a soft voice at a slow rhythm. It was a song about a traveler weary from their journey and longing to be home with their family. Yet they also wanted to reassure their fellow travelers that everything would be all right and they would be there to guide them. Marta had almost forgotten how much she enjoyed it.
"Am I stronger, wiser than when I first met you?
Could it be that I've grown and changed?
I'm happy if it's true.
In the dark of night, don't be scared near me.
I can show you what's right, follow the path of light.
Together we'll shine in the moonless starry night."
Marta smiled warmly at the infant, now fast asleep in her arms. While she would sing to Sophia before bed sometimes, she hadn't really tried it to help the baby sleep before. After Marta once again placed their daughter in her crib and was about to go back to sleep herself, she saw that Emil was looking up at her, a contented look on his face.
"Your voice is so pretty, Marta." He often said that whenever he heard her sing. She once pointed out that he didn't exactly have a large sample size in his eight years as a human. Emil kept insisting he could tell her voice was pretty and Marta eventually relented. She thought of herself as sounding average at best, but she still liked the compliment.
"That was a lullaby right?" Emil asked. "What is it called?"
Marta sat down on the bed before she replied, "'Moonless Starry Night.' I'm not sure if it's technically a lullaby. My mother did sing it to me when I was very little and I couldn't sleep. It did the trick for me, so I was hoping it would help Sophia."
"So it was a song Lily, your mom, sang to you?"
Marta nodded and said, "It was her favorite song or at least one of them."
"Ah." Emil paused a moment before he continued, "From your mom to you, and now from you to your daughter. There's something . . . special about that."
"Yeah, there is. I'm glad I could remember the words. It's been years since I last heard it."
"I like that part near the end, where you said that you wondered if you changed from the journey. It kind of reminds me of us, during our quest to find the Centurion cores."
"I can see that," Marta said. In a more solemn tone, she continued, "I'm sure Mom would have noticed how much I changed. Maybe you, too, if she knew you well enough before and after the journey."
She touched the right side of her head self-consciously. She was almost surprised to feel that her mother's silk flowers weren't on. Of course, she had taken them off before bed.
"I … I wonder what Mom would think of me now? Would she be proud of me?" Marta said, not so much asking Emil, but thinking out loud. Her voice quivered a little.
"I'm sure she would be," Emil said, smiling with a hint of sleepiness in his expression. It shifted to a frown when he saw his wife shake slightly and heard her sniffle. He sat up in bed and asked, "Marta? Is something wrong?"
Despite trying to hold them back, she began to sob softly. She couldn't keep the tears from flowing, either. Emil moved closer to wrap his arms around her. Marta knew she should not cry like that, not with Sophia in the room. She did not want to wake her, and she knew sometimes babies cried when they heard someone else cry.
"It just hit me now," Marta said between quiet sobs, "Mom will never meet Sophia. Our daughter will never meet her grandmother. . . I know its obvious, but I hadn't realized before how sad that is."
"It is sad," Emil said compassionately. His worried expression seemed to say that he wished he could do more right then.
"Mom would have loved Sophia so much. I'm sure she would have been so happy when I became pregnant and after Sophia was born. Mom would have wanted to be a big part of her life."
"Yes. I'm sure she would have, too," Emil said reassuringly as he held her.
"I … I miss her Emil," Marta sobbed.
"I know," he replied, rubbing her back. His warm embrace and sympathetic gestures were already helping her to feel better. Far from the first time, Marta thought about how much she loved him for his kind heart.
After another minute or two of holding Marta, Emil asked, "What was she like? Your mom, I mean."
Marta had told him about her mother many times before over the years. Yet she felt herself wanting to tell him again.
"Mom was very kind and understanding. She's probably the reason I became such a romantic. Mom used to read me fairy tales and other stories, many about love at first sight. She did tell me that love at first sight happened more in stories than in real life. She also said that first impressions weren't everything, even if they could be important. She told me that everyone makes quick judgments about people, but that I should always be open to change my mind. After all, I wouldn't learn everything about a person from the first time I met them."
"Your mom was wise," Emil said. He pulled back from the embrace to look at her face. He smiled knowingly. Emil not only heard this about Lily before, they had also both discussed previously how long-reaching her words were. Despite Marta's initial infatuation with Emil when they first met, she had taken her mother's words to heart.
"She was," Marta agreed. Something then popped into her mind about her mother, and she realized she hadn't told Emil about it yet. Marta wanted to share it with him.
"Mom liked a lot of songs. She said she could never pick a single favorite. She would sing them whenever she worked around the house or out in the garden. I would learn them from her, too. They were usually love songs, but there were songs about family like the one I sang, and she liked ballads, too. Mom also enjoyed listening to musicians and singers at festivals. We even heard 'Moonless Starry Night' at one, played with a flute and … a lute, I think? Heh, I don't really know instruments that well."
"I didn't know your mom liked music that much," Emil said, " I guess I never thought a lot about music before, but I do like your singing."
Marta chuckled a little before she responded, "I'm pretty much an average singer compared to Mom. She definitely had a prettier voice than me."
"Really?" Emil asked.
Marta hummed in the affirmative. At some point, while they were talking, Marta found herself smiling. She had long since stopped crying.
"She sounds like she was an amazing person. I wish I could have known her."
He said the same thing about Marta's mother whenever they spoke about her. He was right, of course.
"Yeah. I'm sure she would have thought the same of you."
Though she still missed her mother terribly, the memories brought her a sense of peace. It felt good to remember things about her mother she hadn't thought about in a long time. Marta didn't purposefully avoid music after her mother's death, but it almost seemed that way. She hadn't thought much about music, let alone sang, until after she and Emil began to live together in Palmacosta. She sang even more often before Sophia was born.
Sophia would never be able to meet her grandmother, but, Marta thought, she will tell her about what made her wonderful. Marta would tell her daughter how much Lily would have loved her. Marta would tell her all about what her mother taught her: the stories, life lessons, and songs. She would of course have to tell Sophia why her grandmother was no longer with them, but Marta wanted to emphasize how Lily was in life. It was the least she could do to keep her mother's memory, other than to keep wearing her hair barrettes.
She should take Sophia to Lily's grave soon as well. Marta made sure to visit her mother once a year, usually on the anniversary of her death. They were delayed this year due to her pregnancy. It was a sad way to have her mother meet her daughter, but she did want to introduce Sophia to her.
"Thank you for cheering me up, and hearing me talk about Mom. Sorry about keeping you awake."
He smiled warmly and replied, "Don't worry about it. I just want to be there for you the way you're always there for me."
Marta's heart felt like it was melted at his words. She embraced her husband again and said, "You already are, Emil."
They held each other for a few moments longer. Eventually, Marta said, "We really should get back to sleep, you especially. It's a small miracle that we haven't woken up the baby."
Emil agreed and the young parents were soon back under the covers. Emil kept his arms around Marta comfortingly. She no longer felt sorrowful, but she still appreciated his affection. They both shortly fell back into a peaceful sleep.
About two weeks later, Marta again awoke in the middle of the night to their nearly-seven-month-old baby crying. That time Emil had already roused himself up and patted her arm.
"That's a 'change me' cry this time, and tomorrow's a day off for me. Let me."
Marta let out a sigh of half-feigned surrender. She couldn't argue with that logic. She felt the mattress shift a little as her husband stood up to first turn on the lamp. Through half-lidded eyes, she watched him go to Sophia's crib, then pick her up. Though he spoke quietly, she heard him say "Let's get you cleaned up, Sweetie." He then carried the infant out the door, likely to the bathroom.
Marta might have dozed off for five or so minutes when she heard their daughter still crying as Emil walked back into the bedroom. She again opened her eyes to watch and saw him try to lay her down to sleep. Sophia continued to wail. Marta wondered if she should step in to help soothe their fussy baby.
"Oh, I was hoping you were just cranky and wanted to go back to sleep. What's wrong, Sweetie?" Emil asked in a low, worried voice as he picked up the baby and began to rock her gently, "Come on Sophia, you'll wake Mommy up."
Marta smiled at her husband being too preoccupied to notice she was not only awake but watching them.
Emil continued to rock Sophia and cooed at her for a little longer until he said, "I never really tried that before, but . . ."
He closed his mouth and a curious, though melodic sound came from his throat.
He's humming, Marta thought. She had never heard Emil sing before, though she sometimes wondered how his voice would sound. He might hum in thought or in affirmative, but this was the first time she heard him hum a melody. Likely, he was too unpracticed and self-conscious to actually try singing, so he thought of the next best thing.
Not only that, but she thought she recognized the tune.
He's trying to hum "Moonless Starry Night" since Sophia liked it that time a few weeks ago.
Emil clearly didn't have the song's melody memorized exactly and eventually, it sounded more awkward. The tune then shifted to something Marta could not identify. It was still a slow, soothing melody and likely not something the musically inexperienced Emil made up. Marta thought it sounded pleasant, too.
Their daughter seemed to agree, as her crying quieted and she eventually settled down. Sophia was soon asleep in her father's arms.
"There we go," Emil whispered. He held her a little longer, smiling fondly at her. After the daintiest kiss on her forehead he could manage, he laid the sleeping infant on her back. He started toward the bed and noticed that his wife was awake.
"Oh … sorry, Marta," he said sheepishly. You heard all of that, huh?"
Marta smiled up at Emil as he sat down on the mattress. She said, "Don't worry about it. Besides, I got to hear you almost sing."
Even in the dim light of the oil lamp, Marta could see the slight blush on his face.
"Not really try to sing, you mean. I thought humming might help Sophia sleep if a song could. I'm glad it did."
"You tried humming 'Moonless Starry Night,' it sounds like. There was another song, too I think?" Marta asked.
"Uh, I tried, but I couldn't remember how the whole song went. Then something else came to my mind that I thought sounded sort of similar, so I tried humming it instead.
"So it's a song you heard before?"
"I guess? For some reason, I can't remember the words at all, but I do know how it sounds. Mostly. I don't remember when I might have heard it, except it feels like it was a very long time ago." Emil seemed to ponder over his words
"Maybe you heard it in the distant past? As Ratatosk?" Marta wondered aloud.
"Yeah, maybe."
Emil told Marta that he didn't have many memories from his thousands of years as Ratatosk. He felt that he had existed for much longer than his eight years as a mortal but this only came to him when he really thought about it. He did remember Aster's death. Otherwise, what few memories he had were very vague, including this song, it seemed.
"It does sound like a pretty song, and close to a lullaby. Maybe we could find it somehow?" Marta suggested. Looking a little flustered, she continued, "Oh, but it's probably over 4000 years old or something, so that would be really hard."
"Heh, just a bit," Emil said with an amused smile. He paused for a moment before he asked, slightly hesitantly, "Um, maybe you can teach me that first song? 'Moonless Starry Night', I mean? I never tried to sing before, at least not as a human, but Sophia likes it when you sing. I thought maybe I should start to learn songs. But not right now, of course."
Marta smiled, briefly thinking about how Emil went from paying little attention to music to admiring her singing, to wanting to give it a try himself. Emil could be a hesitant man even now, but he was also open to trying new things. He said that it was because he wanted to experience as many aspects of being human that he could, especially with Marta.
"Sure!"