"Can you hear it yet, Asria?"

Aamon has been pushy lately. He made me cry the other day. And it is entirely my fault. I am drowning a little bit in my own emotions and therefore I cannot be of any use to anyone else. I know this because he keeps telling me. I have told my mentor.. all of my secrets, even the dark and dirty ones. He had this idea about purging my soul, clearing out all my mental congestion.

"Shut up for a little bit Asria and listen."

"Listen to .. what?"

"Nothing at all."

My mentor.. the Tuchuck Yoda. I have never been good at truly listening, my thoughts are too loud in my head.. nothing calms me inside. My time has been spent working on my story and sitting at the Singers fires. I have been invited to stay, even without a song yet.. because being a singer kind of has nothing to do with singing. It has everything to do with your heart. Lapla, an elder woman, has declared I have the heart of a singer and that was that. There was no great drama or ceremony.. no one hugged me or said congratulations. Lapla spoke and everyone nodded and I was suddenly.. a singer.

"Do you hear it yet?"

"I can't hear anything!"

"Shut up and listen Asria."

And I did. I sighed heavily and with great frustration I fell back on the grass, on my back, my arms thrown over my head and my body soft. I squinted up at the sun and then I shut my eyes and .. listened.

I heard the hum of tiny beetles, I heard the low sound of the bosk, I heard the distant laughter of children.. my breath slowed and the tickling grass began to fade. I heard the ants marching along the dirt.. I heard a bird screech up high. I heard the pump of my own blood and the steady strong beat of my heart. I listened.

And slowly I began to cry. Great big sobbing crying too. I listened and I heard. Aamon pulled me up to sit and wrapped his strong arms around me. He soothed me like a child while I listened still, cried still. I couldn’t hear over my own sounds and yet I could suddenly hear everything.

I broke though the veil of my own creation. And that’s all the explanation I can muster, it was.. bigger then my mere words can tell.

By the time I returned to Oren to fetch my children it was growing dark. The old woman saw it in me though. Her cane punctured the dirt before me to make me look up and meet her eyes. We shared a long look and I, Asria of the Singers, did not look away. Oren smiled, pleased with whatever she saw today. I .. grinned and hugged her, a tinkle of laughter drowned out her showy protests.

"You are a crazy woman." She admonished me as I released her.

"I know, I know. Isn't it wonderful?" I was all lit up and Oren could barely contain her chuckle as Lei came running around the side of the wagon, hot on the hells of a much older child. She veered towards us though and began dancing around me and telling me a thousand little things about her day. Oren brought the baby out to me. He was nearly 8 months old now and had come to have a strong personality for such a tiny baby. He was just like his sister, Skies help me.

"Will you watch them tomorrow, Oren?"

"If I must." She replied with a heavy sigh.

"If you are not feeling well I can ask..."

"Shush now, I said I would do it and I will do it. Do not question me." She snapped.

I smiled. "Yes, Oren."

My song? It was beginning to be sung