The Mermaid Star [editing!]

To Realize

Somehow I had always known my father was a merman. Now that mom said it, it made perfect sense. Her sensitivity around water, how she would always avoid talking about Dad and what he looked like. But, it still felt like a punch in the gut. Did that mean...? No way. Could I be a mermaid? Could Ocean and River? "What about me?" I managed to choke out. "I don't know." My mother replied quietly. "When he found out I was pregnant with you, he said he had a feeling that you were the one. He said you would be a human and a mermaid. I dare say he's right. I know you and River. What really happened at the beach?" "We raced. I fell and got stuck. He helped me up. I found a weird shell and the ocean swept me away." Mom gasped. "Did it look like this?" She pulled a necklace from under her blouse. It was an exact match to the shell I had found, except it was pure white. "Yeah." I said. I scratched my neck, wondering where the shell I had found went. I felt something heavy! It was the shell; how did it get on my neck? "Here it is." I told her and showed her the shell. She smiled and said, "The shell on my necklace was his. It was the only thing I inherited from his death. I don't mind though. But, he said that when the time was right, one of our children would discover one, and become half and half." "Half and half?" I asked. "Crystal," she said "I think you're half-mermaid." Only then did I see the patch of aquamarine scales growing from under my hospital gown.