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Doc could only shake his head while he listened, unable to make out what the child was saying although he did think she was asking for her mother.
"You want mutter?" he asked of the child, "You know she loves you.....so does your Nanny.....so do I."
Then softly, every so kindly, he began singing a song to her, seeing if the power of music would have an effect.
Quote:"I'll do anything
For you dear anything
For you mean everything to me.
I know that
I'll go anywhere
For your smile, anywhere --
For your smile, ev'rywhere --
I'd see."
He repeated it, trying to see if a sweet song would have an effect.
As Doc sings the spark reappears in her eyes.
"Ma.... Mat...." She is better heard by Doc now.
"Hmm... what was that?" The Nanny said but this seemed to cause Gretel to lose the spark she had.
"Did she say something Herr Doktor?" The Nanny moves closer to the pair.
"Mien... Gott... she... tried to speak did't she..." Hilda said standing at the door.
// Sorry about lack of colour posting this from my phone.
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Seeing a result, he continued with a few more lines of the song.
"May the clouds of gray, come along"
"Let the clouds of gray, stay along"
"Because they won't stay very long."
"If you'll only say....Be mine alone"
"I'd do anything, for you smile, everything.
He repeated these lines, trying to use happy song to break her out of the dark place she was in.
Gretel looks back at Doc and the spark stayed in her eyes. "M..Math..." She tried to say something again. "M... M..Math..." Some tears seem to form in her eyes. "Herr... Doktor.... what is going on?" Hilda said. "I tried singing to her... but... she didn't react to it..." Hilda kept watching as the Nanny left the room again. "Why... didn't it work... when I tried it?" Hilda sighed. "M...Math..." Gretel said again crying and the spark was truly in her eyes.
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Doc paused long enough to ask Hildagart two questions, asking while he kept his focus on Gretel.
"Did her father used to sing to her and is my vocal tone similar to her father's?" he asked of her.
Doc didn't know a lot of kids songs by heart so for now, he continued what he was doing thinking briefly out loud, "if only I had a piano."
"Ja... he did..." Hilda sighs. "But... you accent is different... to Gunter's..." At this Gretel seems to cry. "V..Vat..." She moves her small hand closer to Doc. "V... Vat..." She keeps trying to speak but can't seem to. "I think... she is trying to say Vater..." Hilda said before sighing. "What are die chances that she lost her ability to speak?"
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"My accent is different but the tone of my voice, are they similar?" he asked.
As the child reached her small hand to Doc, he choked a bit as his father's instinct kicked in. He felt for her. That's when it dawned on him. He translated "vater" into his datapad and he could only sigh.
"Vater is father in your language, isn't it?" he said to Hildagart, "if that's the case, I'm beginning to think that Gretel sees me as her father. The problem is, I don't speak your language. She can speak, just not......what.....I.....speak."
At this Doc felt almost ashamed for a moment. He spoke fluent Gallic, Hispania, Latin and even was well versed in Kusari but didn't know Rheinlandic.
"That's what she wants, Hildagart, me to speak to her in her language but I can't."
Doc was lost. No one can learn a language in an instant.
Hilda moved right next to Doc. "She did speak some English..." She said while Gretel looked at her Mother then back to Doc. "Vat... Vat..." She seems to stutter after the t. "Vat..." Hilda knelt down next to Doc. "Gretel... it's... me... y..your Mutter..." Gretel looks at her Mother and her eyes become slightly less blank but still very very blank. "Mu... Mu..." She seems to nod her head a little before looking back at Doc.
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Side by side with Hildagart, they continued to speak with Gretel. For the moment, she seemed to calm a little with her hand in his. The language barrier had to be worked through and he did his best with what he had. For what it was worth, the child was responding. Perhaps she had broken free of her demons.
Doc put out his other hand, seeing if she would come to him as he continued to softly sing to her. Did she trust him enough?
Gretel looked more alive now she kept trying to speak and looking back and forth between Hilda and Doc.
She held out her other hand and mumbled to Doc but soon she yawned and rubbed her eyes obviously very tired.
Hilda spoke something to Gretel in very soft Rheinlandlish and she let go of Doc's hand after a while.
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