Bhairavi was expecting Fae, Hybrid Vampires, Goblins, Radioactivity, technically anything but a Rakshasa. Not knowing how to sign the term in ASL, she whipped out her notebook. 'A...Rakshasa? Elaborate. Now,' she wrote.

Her exterior was calm, but inside she felt a comical mixture of bubbling laughter and severe disbelief. Weren't Rakshasas the demons of the bedtime stories which Namma used to tell her when she was a child? What on earth are they doing in the Twenty First century!

"Well. It is a long story." Samanya warned. She wrote, ‘I have a lot of time and burning curiosity. You won't be spared.'

Chuckling at that nervously, he took a sip of his cocoa-nut coffee and almost moaned at the flavor. "My God, what is this amazing version of coffee? It has dark chocolate, and strong coffee beautifully balanced with sweet coconut milk." Bhairavi smiled wryly at that, her reaction had been similar after her first sip.

Shaking her head in amusement, she took a bite of the Halwa pie. She sighed blissfully, the flavor of yummy gajar halwa, full of ghee and mawa, along with the crispness of a flaky pie crust, had not altered since her last visit. Determined to not get distracted, she signed, 'Start talking.'

Samanya nodded before beginning, "You know Indian Mythology, I hope? Or at least a little of it?" At her nod, he continued. "Lord Krishna had killed most of the Evil demons on earth, be it Rakshasas or Daityas. However, the…main Lord of Evil, you can say, the demon Kali had escaped. Don't confuse him with the Goddess Kali, though. He had wreaked havoc in all the Yugas and done his best to eradicate Dharma, being the grandson of Adharma himself.

Anyway, he had escaped with his two wives and children. He is in penance now, determined to gain enough Divine Strength through Tapasya to defeat Kalki, Lord Vishnu's tenth avatar, when he comes to defeat him."

An astounded Bhairavi stared at him, she was finding it very hard to believe all this religious and mythological stories to be real. She wrote, 'But where do you come into the picture?'

"Yes, getting to that. Kali's lineage is very confusing and full of incestuous relations. It is confusing even for me. His two children, Bhay, or Fear, and Mrityu, or Death, are said to be his siblings, which is...complicated. Bottom line, I am one of the lesser known grandsons of Bhay. Bhay had two children with his sister Mrityu, which is repulsive. But he also cavorted with other women in the guise of a handsome man. I am the son of a Rakshasi princess and his illegitimate son Jaragarbha," finished Samanya, as he wiped his mouth. He had finished his pie halfway through the story.

Bhairavi stared at him, half in shock, half in denial. She had gotten a bit accustomed to his appearance but the story made her relive the weirdness all over again. Here she was, sitting in her cafe, with a green Rakshasa, who was telling her his family history, while eating a Carrot Halwa pie. But she would have all the time at home to marvel at the queerness of it all. Right now she had a million questions.

'Where is your family? Are they here with you? Aren't you evil then? Are you telling me the truth? Are you going to eat me? How can you eat normal food? How old are you...'

Glancing at the long list of questions she was writing, Samanya hastily spoke, "Hold on, hold on, let me answer them one by one." Bhairavi nodded and leaned back into her chair, sipping on her drink.

"My family, or my father technically, as my evil family does not do the joint family thing, is in his kingdom. Actually it's more of a large area with a few towns, couple of mountains and forests. My mother has gone to France..."

'Rakshasas going global, huh?' Bhairavi wrote, chuckling internally, and then stopped at his dry look.

"Yes, because every one is modern now. No one wears dhotis and carries swords anymore. My mother is tired of living here and watching my father have numerous affairs, so she left for a long holiday."

Wow, wondered Bhairavi, modern Rakshasas are rich AND dysfunctional.

"I left and came alone because I was sick and tired of my life back there. Modernization simply made my father more cruel. He and the other Rakshasas are sort of the mafia in those towns, and terrorize the inhabitants. The tipping point for me was his brutal murder of a family of three. I left soon after and moved around before coming here. Also, yes I am telling the truth and no, I am not evil. Do you think I would be here if I were so? I left a life of luxury to come and earn a living, away from the violence and blood money."

He glanced to check the remaining questions and laughed, "No, I am not a cannibal, and I am not a vampire that I cannot eat normal food. So, no, not going to eat you. As for how old am I, well, never ask any non-human entity his age. Rakshasas age quite slow and live much longer compared to humans. Mentally and physically, I am around twenty five I would say."

'You skipped one,' signed Bhairavi, digesting all she heard.

Samanya looked at her sharply, before sighing. "I am telling you all this because I had no reason to hide it from another divine being. I am all clean."

'Stop. What do you mean?' Bhairavi stared at him, she was mortal, her parents had been human, how else would they have died?

Now it was his turn to look confused, "What on earth are you talking about now? You are an Apsara, or a Matrika, or descendent of a God or Goddess, right? What are you?"

The question seemed to shake her to her core. Samanya saw the sheer confusion and innocence on her face for his eyes widened. "Hold on, don't tell me you are a human. That is impossible. You must be part Divine at least. It is not possible to look past a Rakshasa's Maya or probe into his mind at all. Some humans are gifted with the Sight which would explain the former, but not the latter. Who are your parents, why don't you ask them?"

Bhairavi grimaced. Her chest seemed to tighten, the never-too-far-away grief roared deep in her chest and her barely-healed heart bled. She wrote, 'They are dead. Died a month ago in an accident. I survived miraculously. They were both humans.'

"I...apologize, Bhairavi. I am sorry, I did not realise. But...what happened...and, are you silent ever since?"

She wrote, 'I don't remember anything from the night, and yes. But recently...some strange things started happening.'

Then she explained on paper the weird scenes which started happening since Saturday, though she kept the details of her dreams and pendant out of it. She did not fully know him, and it would be foolish to divulge all. By the time she finished, Samanya was lost in thoughts. "I need to do some research and find out about this." He finally said, his red eyes troubled.

Bhairavi was surprised at how easily she had become used to his different appearance. Maybe reading all the supernatural fiction and superhero comics had helped her broaden her horizons.

'And I will try to find out some details about my parents from my grandma,' she wrote.

He nodded, before asking a question which took her by surprise, "Now that you know, are you repulsed, or do you hate me?"

Taken aback, Bhairavi signed, 'No, why would I?'

He shook his head, "Just asking. You know I would not lie to you, right?"

The sincerity in his eyes left no room for doubt. Maybe the Goddess Tripura Bhairavi was right, her new friend did not wish to harm her.

They left the restaurant after ten minutes. There had been a mini argument between them about who would pay. Bhairavi refused to let him pay since it was definitely not a date, and that too at her cafe, while he refused to concede, "I am a soon-to-be loyal customer. Give me a free Cocoa-nut coffee on my birthday, as a loyalty benefit, and we will be even!"

Walking back together, they reached the bookstore and continued on after Samanya insisted on dropping her off.

"Bhairavi, you can speak in minds, right?"

Shocked, she stared, she had never told him about her conversation with the Goddess.

"The screaming in the man's mind in bus, remember?"

Relieved, she nodded.

"Then why work hard to sign or write on paper. When we are not surrounded by people you can reply mentally."

Bhairavi slapped her forehead, the thought had never crossed her mind. Carefully, she concentrated and willed her thoughts to project into his mind. Her necklace warmed a little, and with a very light throbbing in her head, she succeeded.

'Hi,' she spoke clearly in his mind.

Samanya gasped at the sensation before laughing with joy, "This is new. I can hear your voice without your lips moving. And now you don't have to work hard to ask me questions. You can also be sure of my honesty since you are in my mind."

Bhairavi nodded, before asking one which had been niggling her mind for long, 'Does your father not miss you?'

"Why would he? I have never been of any use to him. My name even means ordinary. I am an embarrassment to him. A kind, ordinary Rakshasa is of what use? It is good that I left, he would have banished me sooner or later for my softness. My younger brothers are most capable of ruling his kingdom. He has no need of me," he bitterly admitted.

Bhairavi felt terrible for him, and was really angry at his father. She had been showered with love and adoration by her parents, while his parents were negligent and showed not an iota of affection for him.

Taking him and even herself by surprise, she hugged him. She did not remember the last time she had hugged someone other than Namma. Samanya must have been parched for care, for he did not pull back and held her tight.

She could feel his silent sobs, and she spoke mentally, 'Hey, they don't deserve you, Samanya. You are far better than they ever will be. And you are not alone here, you have a new friend who cares for you. Never, never underestimate yourself. You are powerful because you are good and kind.'

He nodded and buried his face in her shoulder, while she rubbed his back. They broke apart a little later, both were blushing and feeling considerably better.

They walked in peaceful silence till they reached the end of the street which divided into two lanes. Bhairavi's house lay in the left lane. 'I can go alone from here. Thank you for accompanying me...and for everything today,' she murmured in his mind.

"Don't want to show me your house so that I don't visit in the middle of the night to eat you, huh?" smiled Samanya.

Bhairavi laughed, and her laughter bubbled into his mind as he heard that cheerful sound for the first time from her. His eyes softened, and he gazed at her a moment too long before turning away his eyes, "Bhairavi, one last thing."

'Yes, Samanya?'

Hearing her utter his name mentally gave him goosebumps. Shaking off those impossible thoughts, he said, "I think you should try to remember what happened the night your parents died. Because whatever powers you are exhibiting, began after that. Try using  them to remember, okay? Take your time, but do try. There might be crucial information that your mind is suppressing unconsciously."

Bhairavi nodded, she had been contemplating about it after last night but had not decided till now. 'Yes, I will do it. See you tomorrow? If you find out anything?'

He smiled, "Sure, but how do I contact you if something comes up. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything, but I will need your phone number or your social media details or something."

Bhairavi's brows furrowed as she answered, 'My phone was lost in the accident, I have not bought another one for obvious reasons. As for social media, I have not used my Facebook, or any other account for a long time. My name is Bhairavi Banerjee on it. You can reach me there, I will log in tonight or tomorrow morning to see if you sent a message for a rain check. If not, tomorrow same time at the book store?'

She tried to not sound too eager or come off as flirting. Samanya was an attractive man, even as a Rakshasa, but she had other priorities. If something did brew between them, she would prefer to take it slow or delay it, any way.

Bidding him goodbye, she set off for home. For some reason unknown, she wanted to stop and turn to look at him. With great self restrain, she kept on walking. Samanya stood there, looking at her till she vanished out of sight. Only after that did he leave.

A/N
Hey there! Hope you are doing well and enjoyed the chapter. I am pretty happy that the book has crossed a 100 reads. Thus, I am gonna update a chapter tomorrow as well! Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow me. I love you guys,

XOXO,
Kaushiki