Lyena was three now.
She spoke more.
Laughed more.
Fell down more.
And she sang.
Not always with words.
Not always in tune.
But always when no one asked her to.
The first time the woman noticed it, Lyena was outside -
sitting in the grass with a stick in her hand, tapping rocks like drums.
She hummed something low.
No real melody.
Just sound.
But then...
a squirrel came.
Then two rabbits.
A bird landed beside her.
They just sat there.
Listening.
The woman watched from the window, one hand on the frame.
She didn't speak.
She didn't move.
She didn't understand.
But the moment was gentle.
So she let it be.
Later that week, Lyena sang again.
This time in the woods, walking ahead of the woman.
And again-
something came.
A fox.
Just one.
It didn't look afraid.
It didn't attack.
It just walked beside her, quietly, until the song faded.
Then it left.
"Why do they come when you sing?" the woman asked one night, by the fire.
Lyena thought for a long time.
Then shrugged.
"Maybe... maybe they think I'm a tree."
The woman laughed softly.
"You're not a tree."
"No," Lyena said. "But I sit still like one."
Some days, she didn't sing.
Those were quiet days.
But even then, birds sometimes perched near the house.
Or mice followed her feet.
Or moths landed in her hair.
The woman never said anything.
She just listened.
And watched.
Lyena didn't seem to notice.
She never called the animals.
She never chased them.
She just... sang.
And the world listened.
End of Chapter 10 - When She Sang