Pisces: The Story of River

Prologue

The winters seemed much colder than normal. The wind wasn't that bad, and it had actually snowed less than the past years, yet it was still colder. The part most affected were River's cheeks. A problem she had never dealt with in the past.

Putting her gloved hands on her cheeks, she waited out front of her school, waiting for her mother to pick her up. Most of the other schoolchildren had gone home already, the parking lot only filled with a few cars belonging to teachers who were staying after to grade homework assignments, or begin putting together lessons for the next day.

Squirming uncomfortably, River wrapped her scarf up higher on her face than normal. The light purple material now resting on the bridge of her nose, right below her eyes. It was fine until it wasn't. The material rubbed uncomfortably on the apples of her cheeks, forcing her to rip her scarf down in a huff.

Since when was her skin sensitive? In the almost eighteen years she's been alive, she's never dealt with that problem before. Maybe she should talk to her mother about possibly seeing a dermatologist about it.

Spotting the gray Sedan pulling up, River stood and grabbed her bag. Heading to the passenger side, she slid into the car, grateful for the warmth from the heaters. After making sure that the passenger side door was properly closed, and her daughter was wearing a seatbelt, River'smother began to drive away. "Hey, mom? Have I ever had sensitive skin before?"

"Only when you were a baby, but that's normal. Why do you ask?"

"My cheeks. The cold, and my scarf, I didn't like how they felt." River watched her mother's face contort before falling back into the soft smile she always knew.

"I'm sure it's nothing sweetie, but I can set you up an appointment."River nodded, pleased with the answer she had gotten. Upon returning home, River listened in as her mother made an appointment for her, knowing that she would have to wait two days before she would be able to get in. That was fine. She could wait.

Washing her face that night seemed to be the most difficult task to do. Every pass of the soap seemed to just burn. But, water helped. The warm water felt nice on her skin. It seemed to be the only thing to touch her skin that didn't feel like acid.

Laying in her bed, River exhaled. She inched to touch her cheeks but knew it wasn't a smart thing to do. There was no answer for how her skin suddenly became so sensitive. It wasn't like that when she woke up. Even during school, she was fine.

Rolling over, she knew that it was a problem that would be resolved soon. Luckily for her, she only had one more day of school before the weekend.

With that thought in mind, she fell asleep.

The next morning, three very distinct things happened. One, her mother burst their breakfast, the smoke alarm being the device to wake River, rather than her actual alarm clock. Two, for some reason, her pillow smelt like fish. And three, upon going to the bathroom and looking in the mirror, River noticed two small trails of scales on her cheeks. One side purple, the other blue; matching her eye colors respectively.

River didn't remember screaming, or hearing her mother rush in. All she could remember was how the scales shimmered in the bright vanity lights over the bathroom mirror.