“Dad” wanted to show the birthday girl a surprise. They walked down a corridor to a door that opened onto a pool ramp with a ten-meter drop into the water below. The big sister held her sisters tightly, making sure they wouldn’t step off the edge.
“Dad” and a strange-looking mother stood farther back on a narrow ledge running around the room. The man pointed downward. Beneath the surface of the pool, like a reflection, was the birthday girl’s figure, wearing a red autumn coat with the hood up. The shape shifted—from floating on its back to just a head and hands. Eventually, the head and torso disappeared, leaving only the girl’s hands, emerging from red sleeves.
The man stared at the children as if expecting applause. The big sister still held her sisters close on the platform.
“Well? Wasn’t it nice?” the man asked.
The birthday girl stared ahead, serious, and swallowed.
“It was,” the big sister answered. “Thank you.”
The man looked satisfied and waved his hand, directing the children and the mother back into the corridor through the same door they had come in.
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