"Your name will be Laudat."

Lucas was startled, he felt cold, he felt a strange pressure holding him from beneath his arms. He could hear the screams of horror and discomfort coming from his own mouth. The entire world was a blur. His lungs felt like they were half full of liquid, which he was coughing out while crying. He was born. 

And amidst all that, he heard his mother's voice, as all the discomfort was replaced by a warm embrace, and something soft was put in his mouth. He knew this was his mothers breast, and that the thing he was being given was milk, but that didn't matter. He felt so comfortable, he ended up quickly falling asleep.

The first few days were painful. Laudat had no control of his body, or bowels. At most, he could waggle his arms around, making strange sounds with his mouth. He quickly learned the reason babies cried so much. That was the only way he had to call the attention of someone far away from him. 

"Awwiaaa~" But it didn't take him long to establish a way to communicate with his mother. By the time he managed to properly open his eyes and see his environment, he had already managed to make her recognize one sound.

"Good morning my little Lau, are you dirty already?" the woman spoke him, his mother, raising him by the sides while holding his head, still unable to stay in place on its own. 

"Mommy, Mommy, what does Lau want?" a girl's voice asked, from somewhere he couldn't see. In front of his eyes, all he could see was his mother's face.

"Let me see, but I think he's soiled his diapers," the woman rested him on her shoulder, as she pulled his diaper back, and let go. "Yep, he soiled them." she said, walking towards a nearby wooden cabinet. 

Oh her arm, Laudat managed to look towards the compacted dirt floor of the house. If he recalled it correctly, back on Earth it was called adobe. Looking down, he saw a small girl, probably four or five years old. She had fair skin, dark eyes and dark wavy hair. She was wearing a raw, unbleached cotton overall. Her clothes looked somewhat dirty and seemed hand-made. The roof of his house too was made out of wood and straw, which made him question his family's conditions. 

'This girl looks cute,' he thought, looking at her.

"Mommy! Mommy! Lau smiled at me!" the girl was overjoyed, as she saw a small smile on his mouth.

"That's great, Kau! It means he likes you," his mom encouraged her as she laid him onto a straw bedding and untying his diaper. "Now let's get you cleaned," she said while smiling at him. In less than a minute, she had him changed, using a wet rag to clean him before putting a new diaper on. She opened her dress, which was wide on the shoulders, to let her easily remove it to feed the kid. "Eat up well." She put him to eat, quickly making him sleep as soon as his stomach filled up again.

"You're gonna become big, and strong, and help daddy plow the fields!" a mana held him up in the air, turning him around.

'Holy, I'm getting nauseous…'

"Honey! You made the baby posset again!" His mom complained, taking the baby from him and cleaning its mouth. "It's all good now, Lau. Mommy's here."

"Jeez, dad. It's not like we don't help you with the farm, right. Why's having a boy that big of a deal?"

"Yeah, so unfair…"

"We spend all day helping you, and all you say is that he's gonna help you…"

"Um… I don't think daddy meant it that way…"

"Ey! Food!"

"Jeez, Zha, you're such a fatty!"

Sitting on his mother's lap, the baby put his hands on the table. 

Seven girls were sitting around the table. Two were in their teens, the two that complained about their father's words. Kaya and Laye, the eldest daughters. They were closing in on the age of marriage, yet their father had forbidden any such talks for the time being. Next was Maya, who was timid and always had her father's back. She was in her mid-teens already, and always accompanied the older two. Then there were Molly and Zhay, both at the age they would be finishing middle school in his former world. Zha only cared about food, and Molly… Well, Molly was a bully. Then, there was the youngest sister, Kauey, who was about to turn five and was always under their mother's wing. Truth be told, Audrey and Mischael had long given up on having any more children. Mischael had always wanted a boy, but after six girls, he'd lost all hopes. Then, five years after Molly came Kauey and he was devastated. A seventh girl was just bad luck by that point, but his wife was already almost in her forties, having a healthy girl was already a blessing. And having more hands to help on the farm was always welcome.

Then, a miracle happened. Out of nowhere, in her mid forties, Audrey became pregnant once again. And this time, it was a healthy baby boy. Saying Laudat was the father's favorite was a huge understatement, even as a baby. 

Tonight, the dinner was some roots they had harvested earlier in the day, and the table was as noisy as ever, with the girls having their talks about all kinds of subjects. Lau, bored, just rocked himself side to side on his mother's lap, as she ate her meal. Truth be told, he wanted to eat too, even though he knew he was much too small to digest food properly. He wasn't even allowed to drink water yet, since it was dangerous for babies to drink it. He watched enviously as his sisters drank rootbeer heartily. 

In a fit of emotion Lau extended his arms towards his mother's cup, opening and closing his hands as he couldn't reach it, by a long shot. His mother looked down towards him, a warm smile on her face.

Laudat looked up, staring straight at her eyes, unbefitting of his age of mere five months, and opened his mouth. 

"Mama,"

A single word that made everyone on the table silent.