To Build A Home

Chapter 19- A Mother's Voice

   Keith woke up crying, and loudly too. It was the middle of the night, but he had woken up nonetheless. As a result, Krolia and Steven were both pulled from their sleep.
   "Do you want me to get him...?" Steven asked, half asleep.
   Krolia shook her head. "I'll take care of him..." blinking the sleep from her eyes, she lifted the child into her arms, picking up the small lion toy as well. "Shhh... You're okay. Mama is right here..."
   Keith continued crying as his mother carried him into the nursery, he was uncomfortable and upset. He wanted his mother to fix the problem and fix it fast.
   Placing him down on the changing table, she carefully removed his diaper. "You really did a number in there this time, Keith..." Krolia desperately wanted to plug her nose, the stench from her son's diaper was so strong. "Thanks for making Mama do this at four in the morning."
   The boy looked to his mother, crying until she took off his diaper, and slowly began to bring the noise down to whimpers, making little hiccups from crying so much.
   She tossed the diaper into the trash and began cleaning him with a sanitary wipe. "Promise Mama you'll fall asleep right after this..."
   Keith held tightly to his lion, sucking on the toy's ear.
   "Keith... that's so gross... Why do you do that?"
The boy gave a tiny smile, the toy still in his mouth.
"Alright... Lets get you into something clean... Then we'll get back to sleep, okay?"
She spent the next few minutes changing her son's clothing. Krolia scooped him up into her arms, kissed his forehead and brought him back to his crib.
Just as she moved back to her bed, Keith left out a tiny whimper.
"Leave 'im, Krolia. He'll calm down in a few seconds..."
Krolia slowly took a seat on the bed, just about to lie down when a lonely cry reached her ears. "He's not 'calming down'..." she said with a sigh, getting up and picking her son up again. "What's wrong, Keith? I just changed you, clothes and diaper... And I fed you less than an hour ago..."
   "I'll take him if you want me to." Steven suggested.
   "No, no... I'm already up... He just wants some cuddles anyway." Taking Keith back into the nursery, she began pacing back and forth, slowly, in the moonlight. "I can't believe you're already three months old...." she admitted, gently stroking the back of his head.
   Unlike other human children his age, Keith enjoyed being held upright in his parents' arms. He wrapped his fingers around her shirt sleeve for comfort, resting his head on her shoulder.
   "You do realize what time it is, don't you, Keith?"
"Aaahhh...." tilting his head up slightly, he fixed his gaze on his mother.
"Mama isn't mad.... But it is very early."
   "Aaahh... aaahh...!" The boy vocalized again, sounding slightly worried. By the way his mother had spoken, he felt as though she was upset with him, her change in tone suggested a different kind of emotion, one he did not like one bit.
   "It's okay..." she kissed his forehead, letting him know all was well in the world. "Mama likes giving cuddles anyway..."
Keith leaned on his mother's shoulder, mumbling random noises to himself.
"Well... unlike you, Mama does get tired." She kissed his forehead again, earning a happy giggle from her son. "Let's see if we can't get you to sleep soon..."
Eyes fixed on his mother, the child let out a tiny whimper.
"You're okay. There's no need to cry. You're right here in my arms. Mama has got you."
As she walked around the nursery, she held Keith close to her chest, hoping he would fall asleep soon. But after nearly ten minutes of walking and whispering, the boy was still very much so awake.
"What is it going to take for you to fall asleep? I've fed you, changed you, cuddled you profusely... How are you not asleep?"
"Eeeeaaaahhh...!" With a happy giggle, Keith signaled that he wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon. Especially not if she continued this tactic of whispering.
"Mama is out of options... If I play with you, you'll be more awake, and if I talk to you, I keep you from sleeping..." she sighed, looking down at the child in her arms, hoping he would provide some help.
"Aaaahhhh....."
"Keith, you can't talk either. If both of us talk, then we're just keeping ourselves awake."
Keith began whining. He was tired, and he wanted to sleep, but he also desperately wanted attention from his mom.
"I know, I know. I'm thinking..."
Whether it was timing or just desperate need for something to put her son to sleep, an idea came to her.
Krolia had never done this before. Not once in her life had she ever sung. Not to herself nor to anyone else. She didn't even know if she could, but if the mobile helped calm an infant, maybe a lullaby from her would do the same. Only one problem, she didn't know any lullabies. She knew of some songs from Earth, but they aren't lullabies per say.
   Of the few songs she knew, not one of them were meant for children. It wasn't as if the lyrics were inappropriate, they just simply were not meant to be sung to an infant as a lullaby.
   After thinking for a few minutes, she decided on one she knew well. Not perfectly, but she knew enough of the lyrics for it to work.
Taking a deep breath, Krolia began humming the tune softly to her son.
Immediately, Keith went silent, mesmerized by the noise he heard.
"You like that...?"
"Aahh...."
"Okay..." Krolia smiled, continuing her slow laps around the nursery. After another minute or two of humming, she worked up to courage to use the actual lyrics of the song.
The infant in her arms listened in silence, processing the sounds she was making, instantly loving her singing.
"The other night, dear.... As I lay sleeping..." she began quietly, "I dreamed I held you in my arms... But when I woke dear, I was mistaken... So I hung my head and I cried..."
   Keith was silent and still. He had never heard his mother sing, but he already loved it. A smile appeared on his lips, and he rested hi head on her shoulder, already feeling himself become tired. With every note, the child grew even more sleepy. He knew not of what she was singing, but it was so calming that he was being put to sleep solely by her voice.
   "You are my sunshine... My only sunshine," Krolia continued, just as quietly as before. Only this time, she sounded more confident. "You make me happy, when skies are grey... You'll never know dear, how much I love you... Please don't take my sunshine away..."
   The room went silent, until Keith vocalized. "Aahh..." he was quiet, almost whispering. His mother had stopped, but he wanted to hear more. He wanted to hear the rest, if there was more, and if not, he wanted her to repeat it all. Krolia may have finished the first two versus, but in Keith's eyes, she was far from done.
   "You want more...?" The mother asked her child.
   "Ah."
   "Okay... Let's see if Mama can remember the rest..."
   Keith grew a little impatient, fussing as he awaited the rest of his mother's singing.
   "I'll always love you... And make you happy." Krolia went on with what she knew, calming her son the second she started singing again. "If you will only say the same... But if you leave me to love another, you'll regret it all someday."
   With a few more versus of the song, Keith grew sleepy, enough to close his eyes and drift off to sleep. His grip on her shirt had weakened, and his breathing was slow and calm.
   "Mama loves you, Keith..." Krolia said in a soft, loving tone. She was quiet and cautious not to make any sudden movements or noises as she laid him down in his bed before moving to her own. She pulled the covers over her body and settled down into the mattress.
   Steven wrapped an arm around her waist, glad to have her back in bed with him. "I never knew you could sing..."
   "Neither did I. I'm not even that good." She admitted quietly. "But Keith likes it, and that's all that matter."
   "No... You sounded wonderful. Although, I would've chosen a different song. That one is a little depressin' for an infant." He let out a small chuckle, resting his chin on her shoulder.
   "Thanks for the heads up..."
   "You're welcome, Darlin'."