Frail

Lumi shook her head back and forth like a frail little quail. 

She shrank herself into the water again and tried to hide herself. She willed her hardest against the workings of her mind, but I paid close attention. The immediate flicker of thoughts and emotions could not escape our telepathy. 

"Your voice is beautiful, dumpling. Don't compare it to others. You felt how surprised and happy Dad was when you first spoke to me earlier, right?" 

Lumi did not even blow bubbles underwater. Half-amused and half-worried that she could not breathe, I poked the deep, bony divot of her back. 

She flinched and emerged from the water with her eyebrows and lips smiling upside down. She shot me a pouting glare before diving underwater again. 

I don't sound like the other girls. It's hoarse and rough and hurts to speak. I don't want to, Dad.

Every word was an ever-growing splinter in my heart, but I resisted. I made sure Lumi could the disturbances in my mind, before I reached into the bath and pulled her onto my lap. The sudden douse of water was cold for a moment before the warmth of Lumi's body hit me.

I was ready to console her when Lumi let out a delicate shriek.

"Eeek!" 

Lumi's reaction caught me off guard. Her delicate shriek rang in my ears like the squeaks of a kitten. My eyes went wide, and my mouth dropped agape. An electric charge courses through my veins as my arms grabbed her by the waist and extended upwards. 

Then in the air, our eyes locked. The bathroom blurred around me. Time stretched. Something suspended me in place. 

"Dad," Lumi mumbled, a delicate pink flush on her cheeks, her mouth twitching with anger. "I'm in the bath." 

Her soft, delicate voice was in contrast to her pout. I felt Cupid's arrow strike through my heart—that was how cute she was.

"Your voice, dumpling! Listen! Did you hear it? It's beautiful!" I exclaimed. 

"Dad," Lumi groaned again, almost a whimper. "Please put me down. I'm getting cold." 

Her pout and sharp eyes were now almost begging. I could not withstand it. I put her down onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her before I returned her into the bath. 

"Sorry! Dad was too excited," I said, clapping my hands together. "But sing for me, dumpling! I want to hear you lots."

Lumi snapped back to her senses. Her eyes flashed with surprise as she finally realized what I was so emotional about.

"My voice...! I-it is better," she stammered. "H-how?" 

"You should thank your little friend Meteor." 

I reached out and held her little hands. I transmitted to her the miracle that transpired with Meteor this morning. Seeing her lips widening, I asked her once more. 

"Please, dumpling. Sing for me. You can feel how much I want to hear you sing, right? I can't fake this, dumpling." 

Lumi hesitated. "I-I don't know any songs." 

I did not need telepathy to know she was making excuses. 

"Look through my memories, then." 

I saw her look downwards at the water before she glared at me with an unwilling blush of shyness. 

"O-okay," Lumi mumbled, closing her eyes. 

I could not contain my giggles as I watched her mouth open. 

"In our lands, we stand proud~

Together under the stars~

Our spirits cross the valleys~

Our hope grace the forests~

And in our lands, we stand free..." 

Her voice trickled out. She dipped her head and turned away. 

"T-that's all..." 

I chuckled. "The national anthem, dumpling? I was not expecting that choice." 

T-there were too many songs. I didn't know what to choose.

I rose, patting her shoulders, before placing my hand on the back of her neck and coaxing her head around. 

"You were great, dumpling. I'm so proud of you. Facing our fears is how we improve as people," I told her.

"Y-you forced me too," Lumi mumbled under her breath. 

"No, I was encouraging you."

"Were not!" 

"Well, let's say I guided your impulses. It's not very scientific how people like to sing in the showers," I said, enjoying this banter with her. 

I saw her face full of eagerness and readiness to retort. But something about the last few words I said made her jolt in place. 

"Ah! G-go away, Dad! Let me put on some clothes!" 

"... did I go too far teasing her?" I wondered.

***

Lumi wore one of my t-shirts when she came out of the bathroom. None of her clothes were clean, so we made do.

Something about the oversized shirt only accentuated her innocence and cuteness. At the same time, it also highlighted how small and frail she was. 

But Lumi remained in a good mood, and I was unwilling to disturb her. I hid away my thoughts and came up to her with another one of my t-shirts. Like the situation with her clothes, none of the towels were clean; they were in worse condition. We also made do with the shirt. 

I draped the towel over her head and picked her up into an embrace. We headed into the living room, where I sat her on the sofa and helped to dry her hair. 

"Feeling better, dumpling?" 

Yes! Much better.

"You're not speaking to me again," I grumbled. 

Lumi turned around with her eyebrows raised. 

I want to hear you sing, Dad.

"Me?" 

The special honey Meteor gave didn't only help me. 

Her words took me aback. She was right. I did not notice how my voice improved too. My resonance was more buttery-smooth, and my baritone was warmer and richer. 

But this was all within my expectations. 

"It's our telepathy working, dumpling," I told her. "Our senses and memories and feelings are not the only things we can share with each other. Your improvement is mine, and my improvement is yours... but in different proportions, it seems."

Lumi's voice improved by leaps and jumps, whilst my improvements were more minor. I knew she always had a beautiful voice, only injured. She was hoarse and raspy and crack-y, and it did not help that she spoke in whispers. 

Now, her pale, sick-like constitution was improving along with her confidence. The difference was night and day. She still spoke with a soft touch, but with her returning sweet and delicate voice.

Together, she was like flowers and clouds: gentle and angelic. The frailness in it turned into a lovely sense of purity. 

But Lumi was not interested in the technicalities of the how her voice had changed. She brushed over my explanations and pushed her demands.

I don't care, Dad. I sang so you must too! Hmph!

So, I tossed the makeshift t-shirt towel to the side and set her on my lap, smiling.

"Anything for you, dumpling. What would you like to listen to?"