Kimberly Robles Besinal , 17, from the remote island in Albay, the Philippines, began experiencing stomach pains last June. As her tummy started to swell her family angrily accused her of having a secret lover. In a bizarre twist, they forced Kimberly to undergo an ultrasound scan, which appeared to show a strange creature with fish-like eyes and a mouth in her belly.
The pictures – combined with a Filippino bygone belief and the youngster’s love of swimming without underwear – caused the family to accused her of having sex with a FISH.
As an ancient Filipino superstition suggests, Kimberley’s family believed she was carrying a mythological serpent in her tummy and shunned her.
But after a year passed no baby had materialised, so doctors checked again. In 2017, Kimberley’s body weight increased by 10 kilos, from 40 to 50kgs, which medics have put down to the cyst.
Kimberly is now trying to raise money for the operation to surgically remove the large cyst.
She said: “I am having a hard time breathing and my chest feels tight. I feel like someone is choking me.
“My family thought I was pregnant, but I had no boyfriend. They then believed I was pregnant by a mythical creature because I used to like swimming in the ocean without panties.”
Her father, Pablo Robles, said the family now understood that Kimberly had never been pregnant – either from a local boy or a fish.
The belief comes from an ancient myth, which suggests that when a woman on her menstruation swims in the sea without underwear, organisms can enter her vagina causing her to fall pregnant with a mythical creature.
Pablo said: “At first, I told her to tell me the truth if she is pregnant. I was angry but now I believe her.”
Despite the medical evidence, Kimberley’s grandmother and cousin still believe the growth in her belly is that of a mythical fish from the ‘Gumaliw’ folklore.
Locals on the tiny island of Manaet in the Bacacay region believe that women should stay out of the ocean for up to five days after their monthly period.
Kimberley’s cousin, Amada Robles, said: “Kimberley likes swimming in the sea, just a few walks away from our house. I always scold her for doing that especially on her menstruation day, but she is so hard-headed.”
Dr Massachusette Fernandez, the obstetrician-gynecologist who is treating Kimberly, said: “The scan really resembles a fish, but it’s not. She has an ovarian cyst. It is impossible to have a fish inside her ovaries.”