At my daughter's third birthday pool party, she pointed at my stepmom's stomach and said, "Daddy's in there" — I laughed until I saw WHAT she was actually pointing at.
At my daughter's third birthday pool party, she pointed at my stepmom's stomach and said, "Daddy's in there" — I laughed until I saw WHAT she was actually pointing at.
For my daughter Ariel's third birthday, my husband, Glen, and I decided to celebrate at home with a family pool party.
Her friends from preschool came over, along with our entire family.
Even my stepmom, Clara, managed to come. The thing is, ever since Clara married my father fifteen years ago, she had NEVER liked me. Sure, I was a rebellious teenager back then, but I'd never done anything wrong to her.
So we rarely saw each other.
Still, I was happy she came.
The party was wonderful. Some people were swimming, others were enjoying the food, and everyone was having a great time.
Then Clara stepped out of the pool wearing a beautiful ONE-PIECE swimsuit.
At that exact moment, Ariel ran past her with her friends on their way to get ice cream and suddenly shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear:
"Mommy, Daddy's in there!"
I turned around and saw Ariel pointing straight at CLARA'S STOMACH.
Everyone burst out laughing, including me. But then I felt embarrassed. I hurried over to Ariel and told her it wasn't polite to point at someone's stomach, then tried to lead her away.
But my daughter frowned and said again:
"But DADDY'S IN THERE! You have to save him!"
Glen was standing nearby, simply shrugging.
I pointed at Glen and said:
"Sweetheart, Daddy is standing right here. See?"
Ariel suddenly started CRYING.
I was completely shocked.
She kept insisting that Daddy was on Clara's stomach.
Clara rolled her eyes, said it was nonsense, and lay down on her lounge chair.
I was trying to calm Ariel down when she grabbed my hand and led me back over to Clara.
She kept pointing at Clara's stomach.
Then I took a CLOSER look at Clara's stomach and finally saw WHAT my daughter had been pointing at.
I screamed:
"No... THIS CAN'T BE POSSIBLE! Clara, what the hell does this mean?!"
I called Glen over.
Part 2: The laughter died instantly.
I couldn't stop staring.
Just above Clara's left hip, barely visible beneath the thin white fabric of her swimsuit, was a dark purple birthmark.
Not just any birthmark.
It was shaped exactly like a tiny lighthouse.
My stomach dropped.
I had seen that mark thousands of times.
Because Glen had the exact same one.
When we first started dating, he used to joke that it looked like "a crooked candle." Years later, when Ariel was born, she inherited the very same unusual mark on her side.
Doctors had even commented on how rare it was.
Three people.
Same family mark.
Same location.
Now...
Clara had it too.
Glen walked over, confused.
"What happened?"
I pointed at Clara's stomach, unable to speak.
His face drained of color the instant he saw the mark.
For the briefest second...
Pure panic flashed across his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
"It's... probably just a coincidence," he said too quickly.
Clara immediately grabbed a towel and wrapped it tightly around herself.
"Honestly, Sarah," she snapped. "Are we seriously making a scene over a birthmark?"
But Ariel wouldn't stop crying.
She buried her face against my legs.
"Daddy was there..."
She kept repeating the same words.
"He was inside."
Everyone around us exchanged awkward glances.
My father finally stepped forward.
"Sarah, she's only three years old. Kids imagine strange things."
Maybe he was right.
Maybe I was overreacting.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
It contained only one photograph.
Nothing else.
I opened it.
The picture had obviously been taken years earlier.
A young Glen stood beside Clara in front of a lakeside cabin.
He looked no older than eighteen.
She looked exactly as she did now.
His arm was wrapped around her waist.
Not like a son.
Not like family.
Like lovers.
My blood turned to ice.
Before I could even process the image, a second message arrived.
Ask Clara why she disappeared for six months the year before your wedding.
I slowly lifted my eyes from the screen.
Clara was already staring directly at me.
May you like
And for the first time since I had known her...
She looked terrified.
