Page 51 of The Blackened Blade

If not for the mess my clothes and hair are in right now and the dried blood on my side, I’d have thought last night was also a dream.

I drag myself from my warm and cosy bed, pulling the now stained blanket from the bed and throwing it on the floor.

I’d have to wash that soon, but first, a hot shower.

Peeling off my dirty and ripped clothes and discarding them to the bathroom floor, I make my way into the shower. I turn the temperature up to its highest, which unfortunately wasn’t as hot as I’d like with its old plumbing, and allow the water to cleanse me of the remnants of last night's fight. I let the water trickle down my face, the warmth like a soothing balm to my constantly racing thoughts. I go to turn the tap off and end my relaxing shower, before remembering it was Saturday, which meant no classes and no need to rush.

Leaving it on, I enjoy a few more minutes of peace and take my time scrubbing before I turn it off and dry myself. I brush my fingers over the tattoo-like mark on my right hip and then my left, before I quickly freeze, looking toward my feet.

There, on my ankles sit a small curved black line, with a small crescent shape sitting above them. Bending down, I trace each one with my finger. The colour is the same as the ones on my hips, but the mark is only half the size. I look back and forth between my right and left ankles, both wearing the same black tattoo-like marks.

What did they mean? Why were they showing up now? Were there going to be more in the future?

I didn’t have them in my previous life, so maybe they really were a small piece of the puzzle of why or how I was here now.

I brush my fingers slowly over each mark on my ankles and then my hips. I didn’t feel worried or anxious when I looked at them. I felt…some sort of familiarity to them, some genuine connection, like they were always meant to be there.

When the words fill my mind, a feeling of rightness fills me. As if there was always a blank part of me waiting for them.

I touch the black marks more fondly before noticing a small patch of dried blood on my neck in the bathroom mirror. I must have missed it while enjoying my shower.

Turning the hot water tap on, the old tap splutters to life before soon turning into a small trickle with barely any lukewarm water falling from its faucet.

I roll my eyes. These old ‘features’ were getting on my nerves.

I didn’t need any pampering or luxury items, but a proper flow of water would be nice.

I go to turn the old tap off after cleaning the bit of blood away, when suddenly the metal head snaps off in my hand, the water now spraying from the broken faucet and onto the bathroom floor.

Thankfully it wasn’t a colossal amount with the old plumbing.

Still clutching the taps metal head, I shove it onto the broken faucet, trying to somehow stop the flow of water.

Giving it a hard push, I watch as the top melds into the broken metal below it and forces the flowing water into a smaller trickle. It seeps into the sink, the flow now only a minor dribble and more manageable to clean up.

My gaze flickers between my hand and the newly shaped tap.

I knew my strength had improved, but being able to bend metal so easily wasn’t possible. Or was it that the taps were just really that old, or maybe cheaper?

I glance back at the twisted metal, still dripping a small stream of water into the sink.

Even if it was old or cheap, it never feltthatweak before.

Shaking my head, I walk toward the wardrobe, throwing on a pair of navy sweats and a white t-shirt.

My strength couldn’t have just sky-rocketed over night, right?

I turn toward my window, gazing at the forest in the distance.

I guess there was one way to test it out.

Getting myself ready, I throw on a matching navy hoody and quickly make my way into the forest.

I make my way toward my small clearing, the forest taking on a different atmosphere during the day.

The trees and grass take on beautiful rich green tones, nature at its finest as the sun shines above, with small birds fluttering in and out through the trees chasing one another.

Closing my eyes, I listen to the peaceful sounds surrounding me as I take a slow breath in.

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