Bhairavi woke from a dreamless slumber, with a slight smile. She had won three of the five games of online Ludo, and gone to bed at three.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she promised herself she would go to bed early tonight. Stretching like a cat, she turned to look at the alarm clock and yelped. She had woken up late for her class test.

Jumping up, she postponed her shower and ran to get ready. While putting on the finishing touch of kohl in a hurry, her mind briefly flashed to the man with the red gleam in his eyes, and she pushed it back. Not now. For now, her priority was reaching college on time and giving a decent test, and she was going to focus only on that.

Running to the kitchen, she grabbed an apple and kissed Namma goodbye, promising to be on time for her hair appointment. Bhairavi reached her class room, five minutes late, and heaved a sigh of relief when the examiner let her enter after a brief admonishment.

Flipping the paper, she scanned the questions and her tension eased. She knew the answers to most of them. The first question asked, '' An image of a page from the book 'Das Mahavidya' arose in her mind, with the term 'Tripura' explained on it. Smiling, she began to answer.

Skipping the last class, Bhairavi left for the salon, happy to miss the boring lecture on Altruistic Behavior. As she got onto the bus, she wondered what sort of a haircut should she get. Her hair was uneven and pointing in different directions, and was only slightly longer than a boy's.

Not much scope for style, but better to look like a young, goth girl than homeless, for her hair was jet black, and she mostly wore dark clothes and lined her eyes generously with kohl.

Getting off at her stop, she checked her watch and saw she had ten minutes to the appointment. Since the salon was nearby, she decided to walk slowly. As she walked, she analyzed her vision and all the information she had gotten out of Namma yesterday.

No matter what, she could not shake off the feeling that everything was connected. Her lucky, safe birth, the stranger who met her family twice, once at the monastery and then then at the hotel, the man with inhuman eyes, her parents' agitation, their accident, her activation of powers, but there were gaping holes of information which prevented resolution. Bhairavi knew she had to fill those holes and see the entire picture to figure out who she was and why she was.

In the salon, she chose a pixie cut which would even out the length and add volume to her hair. After a thought, she told them to add in some caramel highlights. If she was going to be different, her appearance should follow suit as well.

A couple of hours later, Bhairavi left the salon, feeling confident and pretty after a long long time. Her hair had a messy, sexy look and the caramel highlights went really well with her complexion.

As she entered the book store to call upon Samanya, she felt a little nervous and awkward, for no sane reason. However, his open and friendly attitude set her at ease immediately when he did a double take and complimented her new look.

Since she had not seen Namma around and had not faced any trouble from her last night either, Bhairavi agreed to go to her cafe again, primarily because Samanya was craving some cocoa-nut coffee. Bhairavi ordered the same and they sat at the same table as yesterday.

Without wasting time, Samanya dived right into the task at hand, "Well. I would not have asked you to meet me unnecessarily unless I found something. I know you have a busy life."

Bhairavi protested in his mind and pretended to write something on her notebook, so that no one considered him crazy, 'Hey, it's alright. I should be the one thanking you for helping me out. '

But he refused her thanks, and in a mock-angry tone said, "You call me your friend, and then you thank me?"

Bhairavi raised her hands in defeat and smiled. Samanya smiled back before he grew serious and said, "So basically, I searched in my personal collection of old, Sanskrit manuscripts and records for anything which resembled your powers and predicament. Your predicament has no predecessor as such, unless you are born of some Divine being or any of your parents had an affair with an immortal or asked for a special child as a boon, or something like that.

I am still going to search and try to find out some more details, but all we can do now is explore the range of your powers and try to match it with some Deva-Devis or some other supernatural entities. Also, did you try to remember anything from the accident?"

For some strange reason Bhairavi did not feel like sharing the vision she had yesterday, not right then. Also, technically, it was not about the accident and there might not be any connection between the two, who knows.

She knew she was kidding herself but she just wanted just a little more time. If she remembered the accident as well, then she would be able to figure it out herself and then tell him.

So she shook her head, and said in his mind, 'No. I tried yesterday but did not remember the accident. I will try again today, don't worry. Not giving up so easy.'

Samanya smiled, "I know you won't give up."

Their eyes met for a moment before Bhairavi turned her face away from his trusting red eyes, feeling guilty. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined being friends with a Rakshasa and finding his red eyes kind and sincere.

Taking her guilt for discomfort, Samanya chastised himself and wondered briefly if it was about his appearance. Voicing the latter concern in a guarded tone, he asked, "Bhairavi....do I repulse you? Be honest with me. You are not obliged to be comfortable with...how I look."

Taken aback, she answered immediately, 'What? No! Why would you even say that? Initially, I was scared but now I am accustomed to it. And you don't look too different from your human appearance. Either way, you look good.'

Bhairavi bit her tongue after uttering the last part, he would surely think she was flirting. But Samanya smiled brightly with such relief and gratitude that her heart thawed a little and she felt a tiny flutter in her stomach.

"I am glad to hear that. But Bhairavi, on a serious note, if you have any special dream or vision or anything related to your powers or the accident, do share it with me. Your unconscious mind might be trying to tell you something. Even Gods and Goddesses send secret messages in this manner."

To recompense for keeping her vision a secret, she shared her conversation with Goddess Tripura Bhairavi, but she did not mention her nightmares. Samanya chewed on his lip thoughtfully, "The connection of names are a dead giveaway, but what else? Tripura Bhairavi, as you must have found out in the book you bought from my store, is a very fierce yet caring Goddess, but she rarely interacts with anyone but her close devotees. Your powers do match with some of hers but if that is the truth, what is the connection?"

His question resonated within her, for it was exactly what she planned to find out.

"Bhairavi. I have only one suggestion. It is nothing special, but better than nothing, right?"

Bhairavi looked at him, waiting.

"We can try to practice your powers. On me. At least initially. Since I am a Rakshasa, I am far more durable and stronger than any normal human."

Bhairavi protested adamantly, 'Absolutely not! Are you mad? What if I hurt you? These powers are seemingly divine!'

Samanya smiled, touched by her concern. "Better me than some hapless mortal. Also, I do have powers of my own. It's time you get to see some Rakshasa Voodoo," he said, waving his fingers like a magician and making her laugh.

'Fine, we will see. But where do we practice? Certainly not in the cafe or the bookstore?' Bhairavi replied in his mind.

They sat in silence for a few moments, thinking about a suitable spot for practice. Finally he said, "I can't think of any suitable place other than our homes. Or maybe the bookstore stock room, but the employees might...ahem, gossip." Bhairavi's ears tingled at that, she did not need the gossip of them being locked in the bookstore's stock room for hours...or the image of their assumptions.

Clearing her throat, she answered mentally, 'No, let's do it at your house then. I'll manage. But let's keep practice at this time. For a couple of hours. Can you leave the bookstore for that long?'

"Of course. Don't worry. I can always make time for y...helping you." That being said, they left the cafe only after another argument about who was going to pay.

They walked in silence, with an annoyed Bhairavi and a grinning Samanya. They parted at the bookstore after she put her foot down and refused to let him walk her home, protesting that he had to walk extra unnecessarily. Realizing that he had already pushed his luck to the limit by paying for both of them, Samanya conceded reluctantly.

After doing the evening puja, Bhairavi decided to set the table for dinner and take a nap on the sofa. Summer had developed a new habit of climbing onto her shoulder and sitting there as she did her tasks, her claws stuck onto Bhairavi's t-shirt to keep her balance.

Searching for her purple notebook, to keep it close for when Namma came and she had to say something, Bhairavi emptied her college bag on her bed. Finding it, she picked it up when her gaze fell on a crumpled envelope.

Smoothening it, she saw it was an invitation card. Suddenly she remembered Mayuri's invitation. Shit, she had completely forgotten all about it. She quickly opened it and began to read. It was on Sunday. So she had not missed it. And it had the option of taking a plus one as well.

Immediately she thought of Samanya before admonishing her eagerness. Though she had been reluctant about going to the party, she still was because of her aversion to crowds, she could not help but feel a little excited about the idea of taking Samanya as her plus one. But she would have to ask him first. And buy a gift for the couple.

Nap forgotten, she searched on Amazon for a suitable gift. The shutting of the door alerted her of Namma's arrival and she blinked in surprise. She had been searching unsuccessfully for two hours. Rubbing her weary eyes, Bhairavi went to the living room.

Namma almost squealed in delight on seeing her new look, "You look so different and so beautiful, baccha. The hair color is a lovely touch, though it does damage one's hair. Doesn't matter, I will prepare a home-made hair conditioner for you. It will protect your hair and keep it healthy." Shaking her head at Namma's endless love, she handed her the invitation card.

Namma stared at it for a moment, digesting the fact that her Bhairavi was slowly healing in her own way, and was going to attend a party. It improved her mood tremendously and as she read the card, she remarked, "You can take your new friend with you as your plus one. He is rather cute."

Bhairavi stared at her open-mouthed.

"What? I am just saying."

Bhairavi decided to not comment on it. That was a beehive she had no intention of poking.

'Need to buy a gift for them. But what do I give?' Bhairavi wrote on her notebook.

"I will buy it for you. Have you decided what you want to wear?" Namma enquired.

Bhairavi's eyes widened, she had forgotten about that part. She had nothing suitable or new to wear, for she had thrown away all the clothes which had been in her suitcase after the police retrieved it from the hotel.

Namma seemed to understand for she simply asked, "How much is your attendance in college at the moment?"

Confused, Bhairavi wrote, 'I was always regular. Other than the three weeks I missed since the accident, I have been present for almost every class. My attendance is fine.'

Namma smiled in approval, "Good. Then we are going shopping tomorrow. And don't you dare bring your wallet. Consider this to be your birthday gift from me."

A/N

Love,

Kaushiki