The line rang a couple of times before his mother picked, "Wow Samanya, you called me before time! And also when I said I would be the one to call. This must be a real emergency. Now where is Bhairavi, I believe she is the one who needs my help," a polished, brisk voice spoke while Bhairavi stood in front of Samanya, nervous and squirming.

"Now, now Mother, you make it sound like I am not on time for our weekly phone calls. And Bhairavi is right here." Samanya pulled a reluctant Bhairavi to his side and she smiled hesitantly into the video call.

A beautiful golden-yellow skinned Rakshasi, dressed in a floral maxi, smiled at her politely. Bhairavi waved, not knowing if she could speak mentally in a video call and not even attempting to. "Ah, so you are Bhairavi. Hello, it is nice to meet you. I heard what you did for Aritar, and how you were wronged by my husband. Don't worry, I don't blame you," the woman chuckled, "I am glad Samanya has found a....friend who looks out for him now."

Bhairavi smiled, more genuinely this time, and nodded, Samanya must have told his mother a bit about her for she did not ask her to speak or explain anything. "Okay, now tell me what all happened, Samanya. Do not leave out a detail." And Samanya elaborated on how after defeating his father they had returned home and things had been fine for a couple of days before Bhairavi had the nightmare, and then described it in detail.

By the time Samanya finished, even his mother looked troubled, "Son...what I could deduce from the dream was that...Oh God. Now I understand.." Samanya's mother looked at Bhairavi with a piercing gaze before sighing, "She is the one he is looking for."

"What? Who? Mother, stop speaking in riddles and say it outright!" Samanya exclaimed.

His mother visibly swallowed before speaking, "It is your grandfather, son. He is the one Bhairavi keeps seeing in her dreams and he has been looking for her for a very long time."

A stunned Samanya managed to ask, "But why!?"

"Because she is the only one who has the power to defeat him."
Samanya stared at her with disbelief.

Nodding at his look she continued, "You never met him. He had gone to do Tapasya in the forest near our house in Aritar before you were even born. All of your ancestors are doing Tapasya to gain enough Tapas to defeat the tenth Avatar of Vishnu after his birth.

Each of them have settled in a different part of the world for it. Bhay had settled near us. When he was visited by the God he was praying to, Lord Shiva, he asked to be invincible from Manavas, Rakshasas, Rakshasis, Danavas, Danavis, Daityas, Adityas, Gods, Goddesses, Insects, Animals, Microorganisms,, and dozens of other creatures. However, he had forgotten or deliberately ignored a Manavi, considering them to be weak.

Lord Shiva had been pleased with his devotion, so he granted him the boon, but before vanishing he added that though he was invincible from all of them, the one to defeat him was already born.

Enraged, Bhay began searching for baby girls everywhere. He would slaughter them mercilessly. Why do you think female infanticide rates have increased in the near past and present? He whispered and stirred fear in the hearts of men, 'A girl? Oh what a burden till she is married!' 'A girl studying? Oh show her her place in the kitchen and bed!' 'A girl? Kill her before she becomes an embarrassment for you.' He became mindless with bloodlust.

That was the last we saw of him in Aritar before he left to terrorize the whole country. Coincidentally, you never met him while growing up, which I feel is very lucky, and since you refused to be like your father, you knew little about your grandfather killing baby girls in Aritar before leaving. He is still searching for you, Bhairavi."

Remembering the intense, cold, freezing fear from her nightmare, Bhairavi shivered.

"But mother, earlier he simply used to chase her in her nightmares. This time how did he catch up and talk to her?"

"Son, I think you should call up your friend Bahurupi in Aritar...to check if he has paid a visit recently after your visit. If he has...well, he has her scent now. It won't take him long to track her down." His mother had sympathy and resignation in her eyes, "Call them. Now. I'll talk to Bhairavi till then, give her some advice regarding this. Go Samanya."

Samanya nodded, before noting down the number and leaving the storeroom to call Bahurupi from the cafe's phone.

"Bhairavi, Bhay is one of the original demons. Samanya told me about how special you are, you are the only loophole to defeating him. But remember, he cannot be defeated by mental powers or physical strength alone. You need to combine the two, along with presence of mind. Bhay loves playing with his victim, infusing so much fear in them that they beg him to kill them.

Don't let him play with your weaknesses. You are a human, humans are never constant, and that is one of your biggest strengths. Play that to your advantage. Confuse him. I don't know how long you will last if you face him, I don't know anyone who has won against him other than the Gods. Just..." his mother peeked to see if she was alone.

"Just promise me that Samanya won't come to any harm. I know he is a grown up Rakshasa but he has a hero complex and I fear he will get himself killed. It is too much to ask for, I know, but please try. He was born special too, I shall tell you the story if you survive this. He was able to make me see the error of my ways, and managed to make me more compassionate towards humans. I cannot lose him." Bhairavi's eyes stung with tears but she blinked them away and nodded vigorously. She would not let anything happen to him, no matter what.

Samanya rushed in a moment later, his eyes wild with remorse and fear, "I called Bahurupi...he said...he said that Bhay had come yesterday to Aritar to visit and gather more weapons when he came to know of his son's death at the hands of a powerful mortal woman. He was livid and is tearing Aritar apart right now, looking for traces of us."

Bhairavi felt the ground slip from beneath her and she did her best to focus on the present and not pass out, stop being so weak, she scolded herself. "Son, if she is not ready....maybe you should make a run for it before he finds out and arrives. Get some more time, prepare her before she faces him eventually. Come to France, that will get you some time. Please. Consider my offer seriously. And Bhairavi..."

"What?" Samanya asked, confused at the silent communication between the two.
"Nothing. She understands. Goodbye. Take care both of you, my offer stands."

The call ended and both Bhairavi and Samanya stared at each other with shocked, scared eyes. 'Let's get out of here. I will pass out if I don't get fresh air.'

Samanya nodded and they squeezed out of the storeroom amidst winks and clearing of throats from a couple of passing employees. Ignoring them, Bhairavi rushed out of the cafe with Samanya in tow, "Bhairavi wait!" But she kept walking blindly, not looking where she was going till she realized she had reached the park where Namma was picnicking. Samanya reached her a few moments later before nodding in Namma's direction.

They looked upon a laughing and joyous party of old people as they ate and chatted. 'I know I promised Namma to not hide anything from her...but how do you tell someone that their only grandchild is about to die at the hands of the Demon of Fear himself. Not a very casual conversation, you know,' Bhairavi said in a small voice.

"You are not doomed to death, Bhairavi. He is. You can defeat him."
She turned to him, 'Oh really? How? I neither have much physical strength, nor expert mental skills. And Divine blood can only do so much! What am I supposed to do! Bhay can be here any moment after finding out where I stay. What am I going to do!?'

"So you plan to run like a coward or what? Bhairavi, you have been fated to be his downfall. It cannot be just like that! You are special, but you need to stop doubting yourself every second. Bhay preys on fear, the more you fear him, the more power he holds over you. Please. You cannot give up on hope. Think of all the girl children dying for all these years!? Yes, humans did it, but mainly due to Bhay's manipulation. How can you let him get away with that!?"

Bhairavi could not hold onto her tears anymore she hugged him as they betrayed her eyes, 'What do I do Samanya? I felt so powerless in front of him in my nightmare. Just think, if he is more powerful than me in a dream, what chances do I have in real life? I don't want to run away. I really don't. I just don't understand what and how to prepare for the battle. I don't even know when he will come. He can be on his way to Kolkata right now, on a flight!'

"Well, your chances of fighting him with a running nose and leaking eyes is indeed slim. But hey, you might be able to scare him with the crying expression."

Bhairavi pushed him away and snorted while wiping her tears, 'You are an idiot, I hope you know that.' Samanya smiled sadly, "You never fail to remind me." Bhairavi gave a watery smile, 'Okay. Enough indulging in self pity. We need to come up with a plan. Fast. Call up Bahurupi and ask him to inform you when Bhay leaves Aritar to look for us.'

Samanya nodded before dialing his number. "His phone keeps ringing, he isn't picking up."

'Maybe he is around Bhay and can't pick up the call? Try calling him at night? '

"Okay, then what do we do now?"

Bhairavi stared at Namma enjoying the autumn afternoon with her friends, all of them playing cards and trying to peek at the cards held by each other while laughing and pushing and poking fun. Her eyes travelled to the other picnickers comprising romantic couples, happy families, cheerful groups of friends, a random pack of ducks, a few roaming dogs, and a pair of inquisitive squirrels.

The harmony and peace seemed to stir something deep in her soul and made her feel tremendously protective, she could not let such beauty and warmth be destroyed, no matter what. Bhairavi smiled sadly before speaking in Samanya's mind with determination, 'I am going to meditate upon Goddess Tripura Bhairavi and ask for her advice. It has been a long time since we had a mother-daughter chat.'