I first noticed the lumps as I was brushing my hair one morning. There were two of them, hidden beneath my hair. When I looked at them in the mirror, they were small, red and shiny. I went to the doctor. He ran his fingers through my scalp, prodding the bumps.
"Do they hurt?" the doctor asked me.
I shook my head. "No. Not at all."
The doctor thought for a minute. "I think they're cysts," he said. "Nothing to worry about. Likely benign. But keep an eye on them. Let me know if there are any changes."
A month later, my lumps had grown. Now they stuck up above my hair - not a lot, but enough to make me feel self-conscious. I put on a hat and went to the doctor. He squeezed the lumps.
"Do they hurt?" the doctor asked me.
I shook my head. "No. But they feel strange."
The doctor thought for a minute, then handed me a prescription. "Here," he said. "It's for a cream. Rub it on your bumps twice a day. And keep an eye on them. Let me know if there are any changes."
A month later, the lumps on my head had grown again. They had spread out along my scalp, like twin ridges on my head. I went back to the doctor. He ran his fingers along the lumps, pressing on them.
"Do they hurt?" the doctor asked me.
I shook my head. "No. But they feel like they're about to burst."
The doctor thought for a minute, then picked up a scalpel. "I'm going to make an incision so I can drain these." He fitted a blade to the handle of the scalpel. "Don't worry." He pressed the blade against my scalp, cutting a line into the skin that covered my lumps. I felt its cold sting, and then a sudden feeling of relief as the skin parted. The doctor stepped back, a surprised look on his face.
"What is it?" I asked.
The doctor handed me a mirror. In my reflection I saw a pair of bone-white horns standing proud above my head.