Everyone in town knew about the lake. They called it Motherβs Mirror, a quiet little stretch of water with a stone statue rising out of the shallows, arms open as if to welcome every visitor. Locals swore it was blessed β step into the water, and your chances of a big family multiplied.
Tourists, of course, thought it was just a story.
Except Clara was a tourist. And Clara, on a hot afternoon in her bright polka-dot bikini, decided stories were worth testing. Sheβd been a few months along with her first, a perfectly ordinary pregnancy, when she waded in just to see what would happen.
The water was warm, like it had been waiting for her. She splashed, laughed at herself, and felt a sudden tug low in her belly. Then another. Then a lot more.
Her stomach pushed forward with a gentle swell, then a sharp stretch. She gasped, staring down as her belly rounded bigger, heavier, fuller with every passing second. The polka dots across her bikini top danced as the fabric pulled tight, and her bottoms were doing their best to keep up.
βOh, no way,β she laughed, hands bracing her sides as her stomach ballooned outward. βThis is not happening.β
But it was. Her belly surged, round and impossibly huge, as though the lake had multiplied her single baby into a whole cheering squad. By the time she stumbled back onto shore, she looked like she was smuggling two full-grown adults under her skin.
Locals lounging on the grass only grinned.
βFirst time?β one called.
Clara dropped onto her towel with a breathless laugh, her belly towering in front of her. βYeah,β she said, brushing water off her legs. βAnd, uhβ¦ definitely my last.β
The lake rippled quietly.