A pair of unborn twins are talking in their mother's womb. "Tell me, do you actually believe in life after birth?" asks one twin.

"Yes, definitely! We're growing in here and getting strong for what's coming outside," replies the other twin.

"I think that's nonsense!" says the first. "There can't be life after birth—what would that look like?"

"I don't know exactly. But it will certainly be much brighter than here. And maybe we'll run around and eat with our mouths?"

"I've never heard such nonsense! Eating with your mouth, what a crazy idea. We have the umbilical cord to feed us. And how are you going to run around? The umbilical cord is much too short for that."

"Yes, it's definitely possible. Everything will just be a little different."

"You're crazy! No one has ever come back from 'after birth'. Life ends with birth. Period."

"I admit that no one knows what life will be like after birth. But I know that we will see our mother and she will take care of us."

"Mother??? You don't believe in a mother, do you? Where is she?"

"Here, all around us. We are and live in her and through her. Without her, we couldn't even exist!"

"Nonsense! I've never noticed anything about a mother, so she doesn't exist."

"Yes, sometimes, when we're very quiet, you can hear her singing. Or feel her caressing our world..."

Story based on Henry Nouwen