A/N
Link to the song is given above👆
This is not the original song but I love this version of it, which I had witnessed in the movie Qarib Qarib Single.

Bade acche lagte hai....

Ye dharti, ye nadiya, ye raina aur...

Aur tum...

(It's all so beautiful...

This earth, this river, this night, and...

And you...)

As the newly installed speakers spewed the soothing song, Bhairavi stared around in surprise. She had always been so lost in other thoughts that she had never noticed the interior properly.

A new shop, it smelled of lemon varnish and room freshener, which was circulated by the cool air of the AC. The interior was tastefully decorated in a rustic manner, with wooden panelling and hanging bulbs.

Heading for the stationary section, she looked out for employees. A few of them were about, but none approached her. Seems the overenthusiastic guy had warned the others about her. Smiling ruefully at her own doings, she picked up two notebooks, a purple one with a black and white mandala printed on the cover, and a red one with silver snow flakes.

Satisfied with the aesthetic beauty of the notebooks, Bhairavi set off for the billing counter when her gaze fell on a lovely apron and mittens set. With Namma in mind, she checked the price and her face fell. It would take up her entire self allotted allowance of the month. Each month, she would withdraw a small amount from her bank account, determined not to waste an extra rupee of Namma's, nor overindulge in her inheritance.

But now she wondered if taking a small part time job might help. After all, she was a grown up now, and earned nothing. But then she pushed it out of her mind, for no one would hire a mute person. Maybe she could help out at the cafe. Her face brightened a bit, yes, she could do that and save Namma some money.

Feeling a little better and saving that thought for future reference in her mind, she steeled herself as she saw Samanya at a distance. With undivided attention, holding the two notebooks and the apron set, Bhairavi approached, a polite smile on her careful face. As she reached the counter and saw him interact with the customer before her, she focused her eyes on him. Her nape prickled and she felt a little uneasy.

As she stared at him and zoned out, the light around Samanya seemed to be refracting through his body and his appearance flickered. As her ears felt warm and her head began to throb from focus, she felt the light rays diffract instead of passing through. In place of the attractive normal man, stood a green skinned being with black swirls tattooed over his arms. The similar handsome face had red eyes and his fangs seemed to wink at her as he laughed and wished the customer good day before turning towards her.

Bhairavi was horrified and her face must have shown it for immediately Samanya's smile dropped and his eyes became guarded. The moment she stopped focusing, everything became normal and he appeared his usual self, but with a wary smile.

Immediately schooling her expression into a smiling one, Bhairavi signed the first thing which came into her mind, 'Installed speakers?'

Taken aback, Samanya answered, "...yes. Yes. Hi."

Breathe normally, Bhairavi scolded herself, before handing over her items to be billed. As he worked, she peeked at him. Gathering a bit of courage, she focused on his hands. Immediately, light seemed to reflect away from his arms and they appeared green and scaly, with black designs.

Realising that he was no human, she handed him the money and hurried out of the shop with a quick signing of thank you. She started walking faster and by the time she reached her lane, her heartbeat was almost back to normal. "Bhairavi. Hey, listen. Hello! You forgot your things. Wait." She froze on hearing the voice, it belonged to Samanya. Turning slowly to face him, she decided to act as normally as possible.

"Here. You paid but forgot to take them."

'Thank you...you could have sent someone else,' she signed with shaky hands before realising how shady and rude that sounded and cursed inwardly. "It's okay, I don't mind," Samanya said, his face appeared worried. It seemed like he wanted to say more but did not know how to. Realising this, Bhairavi was about to leave, but before she could escape, "Bhairavi....I know." She turned to face him with fearful eyes.

"I know you saw me. I could feel the probing....the way you scraped away the layers of Maya to see the real me."

Confused, she stared at him, 'I don't understand.'

"Look...don't be frightened of me, please. Give me a chance to explain. Please?"

Torn, Bhairavi wondered what to do. Samanya was not a human, she was sure of it, but she also knew that it would be unfair to not give him a chance to explain, for he had not tried to harm her. Yet. Also, if he was a good supernatural being, maybe he could help her with her own powers or at least throw some light on them. 'Fine. But not now.'

"Okay. Tomorrow...? You can visit the shop at this time? We can discuss this in a cafe or somewhere you feel comfortable and safe. Please say yes."

Bhairavi agreed, tired and exhausted. Taking the paper bag, she bid him goodbye and waited for him to leave before she went home. Namma was not home yet, which was a relief. She did not want her to see her so tired and upset. Deciding to take a shower to make up for the one she skipped in the morning, Bhairavi turned on the geyser before pouring a small bowl of milk for Summer.

Banging the bowl before filling it to the brim, she set the bowl on the ground and watched her cute cat come running and then lapping the milk up ravenously, lost in thought. After scratching Summer's ears while she licked the bowl clean, Bhairavi went to take a shower.

Since it was already late, she decided to do the evening puja first before anything else. While uttering the shlokas and mantras in her mind, she prayed properly, after a long time. 'What is this happening to me? First you take my parents, now you saddle me with weird abilities and surround me with supernatural creatures? What is next, an arch enemy? All I wanted was a normal, happy life. Help me. Please. I don't want anything but to survive this pain and make Namma happy. Please don't complicate my life further. Just…guide me, to do the right thing.'

After the puja was over, Bhairavi decided to catch up on her lessons. There was a class test on Wednesday and she wanted to do well in it. Her heart was not in it, but she forced herself to study for an hour before giving up. Feeling restless, she checked the time. It was just eight. Namma did not come home till eight thirty. Wanting to make her happy, she decided to wash the dinnerware and set the table.

Still having time on her hand, she made herself a cup of coffee and decided to read till Namma came. Remembering how she fell asleep halfway through the chapter on Maa Bhuvaneshvari, she decided to complete it. Flipping the book open, she sipped her espresso and began reading. But she could not pay much attention, no matter how hard she tried.

The chapter was extremely interesting and liberating as it talked about how all of Creation, the Tridevas Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva came to be, how they saw millions of universes each with their own Tridevas, in the sheen of Bhuvaneshvari's toe-nail. Some were getting created by Brahma, some getting sustained by Vishnu, while others getting annihilated by Shiva, and how Maa Bhuvaneshvari, the Queen of all Cosmos, created the fourteen lokas or realms of our universe.

But her mind remained stuck on the scaly, rough, green appearance of Samanya, decorated with swirling black tattoos, his red eyes and prominent fangs. She could not recall any supernatural entity, like a vampire or a werewolf portraying these characteristics in any book or film. What was he, she wondered, and why did he want to explain himself. After all, even if she tried to divulge what she saw, she would gain nothing but a tag of insanity. The clicking of the locks alerted her of Namma's arrival and she cleared her mind of these thoughts before going to the living room to greet her.

Namma was trying on the apron set kept on the sofa, with childlike delight, by the time she came. On seeing Bhairavi, Namma exclaimed her joy by hugging her, "Thank you so much, baccha. This is a wonderful gift. I really needed a new apron and my oven mittens were badly scalded. You even got them in my favorite color, baby pink. But what is the occasion?"

Shrugging, Bhairavi signed, 'Just like that. I love you.'

With moist eyes Namma kissed her cheeks, taking her by surprise and making her blush, in spite of herself. "Let me serve dinner. I had cooked before leaving for the cafe. Give me five minutes and I will serve you hot, yummy food, baccha."

On passing the dining table, she exclaimed in wonder, "Oh my, you even set the table. Today must be a special day. Thank you." Namma's joy was reward enough and cheered her up.

After dinner, she offered to wash the plates but Namma declined and told her to rest. "Go and relax in your room. You have had a busy day, what with shopping for me, helping me out, and college."

Feeling better than she had in a while, Bhairavi went to her room with Summer in tow, as usual. Seeing the 'Das Mahavidya' book lie open on the bed, with pages flipping, she bent to shut it when she saw a picture and recognition struck like lightening.

Flipping back to that page, Bhairavi stared with awe and fear. It was the face she had dreamt last night. The details of the dream were lost upon her but she remembered that face. The face of Tripura Bhairavi, the fifth Mahavidya.

A/N

Hey readers, I decided to upload an extra chapter today as a surprise. Do give them a read, vote, and comment your valuable inputs. Don't forget to follow me for further updates, it would only take a second but would mean a lot to me.

Love,
Kaushiki