A Single Syllable

CALLA'S POV

Freya said her first word at five months and three weeks.

I want to be precise about this because the precision matters and because there will come a day when she is old enough to hear this story and she will want the accurate version, not the sentimental one.

The word was da.

Not dada — da. One syllable. Directed with unmistakable specificity at Kaelen, who was across the kitchen maki