1.3 : A LIE?

The sound of gushing water filled my ears. I opened my eyes, and when I did, I noticed that I was back in my room. I noticed that I had left the water running in the washroom when I decided to take a hot shower.

"Must have left it on and taken a nap. What a waste of water!"; I thought. I swiftly went and turned the tap off. Strangely, the water was lukewarm. How long was the nap? 15 minutes, or was it 20? I thought, no, I was certain that I passed out for quite some time. The numbness in my body and the light-headed feeling I had after waking up was a testament to that feeling. But whatever. I grabbed all the essentials and went ahead to the shower.

"I'll just have to put up with it, I can't waste my precious time waiting for hot water."; There was nothing much I could do about this.

I entered the bath, and started to brush my teeth, and flossed my mouth. Just the usual. The hot steam from the water blurred out the mirror in the washroom. Though I didn't think that there was any purpose to use the mirror at the moment, so I just let it stay.

I sprayed some hot water over my body, cleaned myself well, and then entered the bathtub filled with lukewarm water and relaxed. The moment I just settled down, it fell as though all my sore joints started to loosen themselves. That moment was something I couldn't define in words, partly because I let out sounds that were of an arousing nature, and partly because I just couldn't bother trying to explain it and break it down into simple words.

The bathtub in my room wasn't big by any means. It was just adequate. When I say adequate, it's just me being generous. To be honest, I couldn't complain about the size to anyone because this room in its entirety is a blessing to me, or to define it crystal clearly, is just a stroke of luck. To get such a room near campus that didn't have any damages and in a useable condition where I didn't have to compromise for any basic amenities was something I just couldn't overlook. Besides, the bathtub is something I had to adjust and get used to, and I did.

Normally, I can't dip my head in if I just stretched while placing my back towards the end, but if I turned around and lay on one end of my waist and pull my knees close to my chest, I could submerge my whole body within the bathtub.

It was a habit of mine at this point to just submerge myself for a few moments. In a way, it just calms me down and disdains any ill feelings I've been carrying within myself. It doesn't outright nullify them but you could say that it just clears my head and puts me in a calm place.

Yesterday was a rough day! I puked at the washroom in the campus, and then around the corner of an alleyway and then...and then...I think I just blacked out after reaching my room. I wanted to relax. The sudden surge in the shock waves I've been experiencing within my head was a concerning matter, but at the same time, it physically drained me out.

I decided to dip my head. And no sooner had I done that, I sprang like a cat out from the tub instantaneously. I had this stinging sensation near my neck, and while avoiding caring for it, I never thought that it would give me such a reaction when I chose to dip my head down.

I immediately felt something was off. Sweat trickled down through my forehead. I started to have faint recollections of something. That's when I started to connect the dots of the events that played out yesterday and how they transpired to me being here right at this very moment. Granted, there was a huge chunk of information missing out on my whereabouts but I could always backtrack if I needed. The strange circumstances yesterday night, and then me ending up on my bed, and leaving the water to overflow from the bathtub. It was only that part that stood out. Something did not add up.

At that moment, the fog that covered my mirror started to condense into water droplets, and slowly I could see my reflection in the mirror. I swiped the droplets out with my forehand and took a closer look at myself, and then I took a step back for a moment. I rubbed my hand through the area in question, and then I crept in closer. This time, while looking at the mirror, I started to gently move my hand around my neck. That just confirmed my suspicion. That's when I realized it and everything started to make sense;

SO LAST NIGHT WASN'T A LIE!

I chuckled. What I saw in the mirror was the reflection of me, and around the right side of my neck, the portion between the jaws and the collarbone laid the mark of two crimson dots, which only meant one thing, I was targeted by one of gothic literature's most famous monsters described in its folklore, the vampire.

But that was no laughing matter. I soon realized the gravity of the situation I was in when I connected the dots. The fact that I saw this person cannibalizing for their own needs, and then the fact that I "saw" it, as in, I was living evidence was more than enough to put me on my guard. Plus, there also remained the fact that I had no recollection of what happened yesterday or how did I end up here and why was I spared? Why was I still alive? There was a lot of other stuff that left me confused and just piqued my curiosity. I laid my hand on that mark and just rubbed it gently...

IT WAS A WOMAN, WASN'T IT?