Coming out of the shop, as I was crossing 33rd Street, I took a look at myself in a puddle. The water was muddy, of course, but it was still clear enough to give me quite a shock.
As it turned out, even after that torturous 'half-awakening', my forehead looked the same as before. The marks and tattoos that I was expecting to stay on my head simply weren't there.
And that's when I recalled that even though the Mayor was supposed to be the strongest hunter and the cornerstone of our city, he didn't have any marks on his forehead.
With a start, I recalled him telling me that the quill was a magical tool or something that allowed the passage of concentrated essence. Perhaps, the essence simply didn't leave a mark, or perhaps, the mark was just hidden.
I touched my forehead and it felt normal as well. Since it wasn't going to make sense no matter how much I thought of it, I decided to leave it for later and walked back home.
I told the news of my awakening to my parents, who were immediately concerned about me. It took me a lot to convince them that somehow, I had managed to get the infamous Lord Mayor of the city to help me awaken.
Although they wanted to know the whole story, from where I was going every day religiously for the past four months to how I met the Mayor and convinced him, I merely summarised my experience and narrated it in a way that somehow left Uncle Albert out.
It was because I didn't want to be the one spreading the secrets of my benefactors, even if it was to my parents. Even though they were aware that I was hiding something, they didn't pester me for more information and instead, were absolutely delighted and proud of me.
Unfortunately, I could neither match their enthusiasm nor optimism, because I knew that however monumental that awakening might seem to them, it was just the beginning of my hazardous and treacherous journey.
I simply couldn't allow myself to feel proud or content with such little progress. Moreover, I still had to figure out where and how to acquire the blood of the powerful vampire aristocrats for my infusion.
Every day that I wasted was another day that Sister Hin spent away from the real world.
Still, I tried my best to smile now and then to share my family's joy. They had already done too much for me, and now that they were finally feeling happy, even if they were happy for me, I did not deserve to take that happiness away.
When the dinner was done, I was mentally and physically excited. Moreover, the physical trauma of the 'awakening' and the mental trauma of Crimson Lake was bound to spend countless more nights with me.
At night, when Chloe fell asleep, I saw her breathing in and out and realized that I was able to hear much more acutely than before. I was also able to smell the sweet scent of candies hidden in Chloe's drawer.
Another change that I experienced was that even inside the dark room, I was able to 'see' things, albeit a little blurred.
'Perhaps, this was what they meant by 'senses being enhanced', perhaps it wasn't the limit of increase in the perception that the process would grant me.' I thought as I went off to sleep.
Over the days, I realized that my guesses regarding the awakening gradually increasing my perception were right and I was even underestimating those changes.
Perhaps, that was why Uncle Albert told me to wait at least 3 to 5 years before the blood infusion and 'foundation establishment'.
The transformation wasn't just limited to my senses, even my thought-processing seemed to be faster than before. In addition, even after running from one end of my street to another, I didn't feel even half as much exhaustion as I would have felt before the awakening.
Every week, I visited Uncle Albert's shop at least once to help him with the little things such as cleaning the shop and arranging things. Even when he didn't need that help, it didn't stop me from giving it my all. I did my work with all seriousness, understanding that I wouldn't receive any more benefit or praise. It was just a way for me to pay the 'interest' for his 'debt'.
When there wasn't any work in the shop, I accompanied him as we read books together.
I also took my elder brother, Rowan there forcibly a few times, and although neither he nor Uncle Albert spoke a word to each other, I knew him enough to recognize that he loved the quietude of the place.
As for Uncle Albert? Even if I knew him for a thousand more years, I believed I wouldn't be able to know him enough to recognize the changes in his facial expression or read his mind.
Two years passed like that in Silvermore, in the laid-back serenity of the city where life was unhurriedly moving for everyone, at different paces. By that time, Rowan had grown so attached to the place that when I went there occasionally, I would find him sitting on the stool on which I had awakened, reading a book while minding his own business.
His relationship with Uncle Albert had also progressed to the point where both of them nodded at each other at least twice a day. It was massive progress to be had with a man as recluse and eccentric as him.
Following her elder brother and sister, Chloe also developed an interest in reading, though I believe it was more because she just didn't have any companions to play with anymore.
However, unlike me and Rowan, she was only interested in books with pictures or romance books. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I first saw her reading books like that with all seriousness.
Moreover, her intense expression while slowly reading every line was enough to tell me that she was immersed completely in the world of the heroine of that novel.
Was it a good change or a bad change? Of course, I called it a good chance. She didn't pester me all the time to play with her anymore. She didn't cling to me all day. Also reading was a great habit to have, though I wished she read something better than the books she was reading.
But she was just a child, how could anyone have the heart or the courage to demotivate her when she seemed so serious about it?
Things didn't change as much as I had expected. The mental trauma that I had kept repressed within me laid dormant there. Gradually, the memories of Sister Hin that I kept within my heart became my most precious memories. However, instead of the risky and casual sister that she was, she became a perfect angel in my mind.
It was the only way I could keep her from fading away. Only in a month or two would I gain the courage to visit her home and hold her hand while Aunt Nefaly stared at me.
4 years passed by like that before I knew it. I still hadn't found a way to obtain the blood of a vampire aristocrat. It was giving me tremendous pressure that increased with each passing day.
It was during Rowan's eighteenth birthday, when I went to fetch a birthday cake for him, that I came across a likely solution.
Surprisingly, it was Aunt Enka, with whom I had minimal interaction in the last four years, that gave me that hope.