When I stepped into the bathroom, an insistent pitter-patter scratched at my ears. The faucet had started dripping again. "Didn't I fix this last time?" I muttered to myself. Right then, as if defying gravity, I noticed a drop of water falling in slow motion. What the…? And my vision had sharpened; everything looked crystal clear, as if right under my nose. A voice inside me whispered, "It must be because of Azel's blood." Could I move as fast as him?
Curiously, I turned the faucet handle—and the metal lever stayed in my hand! I froze. I looked at the piece in my hand, then back at the faucet. My strength… my vision… this was definitely not normal. "Oh no," I thought, "how am I supposed to take a bath now?" Luckily, it was summer, so even if the hot water handle broke, it wouldn't be a problem.
Nervously, I twisted the cold water handle. "Please don't break… please don't break…" As the water started to fill, I instinctively plunged my hand in. Ice cold! I thought of the ice baths I'd seen online. "I can do this," I motivated myself, and dumped the basin over my head. I felt myself freeze instantly! "Ahh, I'm going to freeze to death!"
I wanted to soap myself quickly and get this over with. This time I overdid it, lifting the huge bucket. "Now or never!" I yelled, and my bare feet lifted off the ground and then stuck to it. All the water from the bucket poured over me. "I think I'm dying!" I groaned. My struggle to get up was a complete disaster. In the end, soaked and clumsy, I somehow managed to clean myself.
As I stepped out of the bathroom, I heard the door being knocked mercilessly. My mom had already opened it. "Ayşe, I got ice cream! Put it somewhere before it melts so we can eat!" a booming voice called… it was my dad.
I dressed and headed to the living room. At the table my mother had set, he was happily eating the pastries I had brought. I thought to myself, "Seriously, does this man's face ever blush?" As soon as I sat down, he pulled some money from his pocket and handed it to my mother: "Here, give it to him. For school allowance."
The familiar scene again… Was he good or bad? Somewhere in between. When my mom handed me the money, I shook my head as if to say, "I don't want it." "Then we'll buy something from the store with this," my mom said. "Up to you," I could only reply. "And mom, I broke the faucet. I'll get a new one and fix it tomorrow."
I stared at the delicious pastries and baklava on my plate. I started eating, but there was a lump in my stomach. My mind wouldn't stop thinking about Azel's dark blood and the strange changes I had experienced.
As soon as I retreated to my room, I replayed everything in my mind. Azel's blood had strengthened me. But what if there were more like him? Ordinary people surrounding me… could they actually be monsters? The first thing I needed to do was control my power and improve my combat skills. Most importantly, I had to make Azel talk and learn the truths about this new world. Lost in these thoughts, I had fallen asleep staring out the window under the stars.
I opened my eyes to the morning light. The alarm hadn't even gone off. "What the…? Did I wake up early?" I thought in surprise. And yet, I felt completely alert. The effect of the blood, of course…
In the hallway, I bumped into my mom. Her eyes scanned me. "Son, what's going on with you? You're surprising me. You woke up early and you're already up! Is the apocalypse coming or what?" I swallowed. "Uh… I had to go to the bathroom. Went and came back, lost my sleep," I said.
I quickly finished breakfast and sneaked out of the house.
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