Sing before you can speak by Aprilertuile

Maitimo held his baby brother in his arms, and was surprised when the baby started to emit a melodious sound.

He tilted his head to the side, looking at the baby that looked peacefully at him, holding a strand of his red hair in his chubby little hand:

“You sing baby brother?”

The baby giggled and reproduced the sound he made before. It wasn’t quite a song, there were no words in it, but it was a melody, very certainly. Easy and quiet, but there.

Maitimo blinked, a smile stretching his lips:

“That’s the song mom sang you last night isn’t it? Can you do it with other songs?”

Maitimo started to sing another melody, one that was catchy and well loved in Tirion, and the baby soon seemed to pick up on it, following the melody.

It was not quite exact, but it was lovely to hear.

Maitimo hummed quietly, a repetitive sound that the baby started to copy instantly, and that reminded Maitimo of something that his step grand-mother Indis once said at family gathering: The Lindar, the elves of Alqualondë and their cousins who stayed behind on the far shores, above all the other Quendi, from their beginning were most in love with water, and sang before they could speak.

“Oh baby brother… Will you too learn to sing properly before you know how to speak?”

Makalaurë, innocent baby that he was, emitted an enthusiastic sound at his brother’s question and Maitimo laughed quietly. 

His baby brother was, as his mother had already explained to him once, reacting to the sound of his voice, not really answering his questions, but sometimes… Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the baby didn’t understand far more than he was given credit for.

“You like that idea, don’t you? The idea of songs. Tell you what, if you keep being nice like you are, I’ll sing you a song I’ve learnt from grand-father Mahtan. He said that…” Maitimo continued speaking to the baby in his arms, who started to fall asleep, safe in the warmth of his brother’s love and attention, soothing noise reaching his sensitive baby ears.

Maitimo noticed, but that didn’t stop his tale of what he got up to with his grand-father the last time the family was in Aulë’s Forge. 

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