Kairavi

Chapter 93

The sky was as dark as the villainous orbs of the man pacing in front of a tent.
His palms were balled into tight fists and eyes red with grieving anger.

Grey clouds looked upon the scene from the celestial sea.

His heavy steps made the dust jump in the air whenever his huge foot slammed on the ground.
The menacing grin plastered on his face spoke about his atrocious intentions.

A brooding silence was lodged in the atmosphere; its screams deafening to the ears.
He bent down to pick up a dagger laying on the ground. It was drenched with blood, resulting in the dirt sticking to it.

Pinching the blade between his thumb and index finger, he glided them across the sharp metallic edge, swiping the crimson liquid off its surface.
Smoldering eyes looked directly at a rusty pole erected just a few meters away from him.

He approached the pillar like a jackal advances towards its prey.
Stealthily.

The weapon in his hand glimmered as he walked past the stanchion, into the shadows. The stillness that followed was intimidating.
It almost felt like death was standing on the other side of the darkness, waiting to prowl at its victim.

However, the silence lasted only for a few moments.
An ear-splitting growl reverberated in the background, accompanied by loud swishing noises.
Metallic chains clanked against each other, making the pole shake violently in a struggle. The jangles of iron against iron filled the little prince's heart with fear.
Panicked whimpers escaped his lips as he tossed and turned in his slumber, hand reaching out in search of comfort.

A petrifying scream of a woman echoed in his ears, chilling the spine from the core.
His eyes flew open.
Panting with terror, he mewled out, looking for Subhadra. No person was in sight except the wheat-skinned Abhimanyu, snoring lightly beside him.

"Maa!" He hollered.

The terrified Adityansh clasped his hands over his ears to shut down the voices resonating in them.
His body curled into a small ball, trying to evade his nightmare whose remnants flashed before his eyes. "MAA!" He screamed again in urgency.

"What happened?" Three concerned men ran inside the hut hearing his yelps.
Arush looked up at them with pure horror on his face.
They looked like the person in his dream, stature-wise. Scared that one of them was him, the kid scampered backward on his limbs till his back hit the wall.

Amidst the cacophony of the twins and Krishna asking him to come near to them, he was cornered with nowhere to go.
Subhadra's embrace was all he needed and nothing was going to replace that.

He started bawling. Trepidation was settled on his nerves which made their anxious calls sound like chaotic howls to him.

He shook his head fiercely and yelled whenever anyone tried to touch him.

But, like a ray of sun in the middle of a storm, he heard a dulcet exclamation piercing through his distress.
His minuscule frame jerked in surprise.
He looked to his back to find Kairavi standing at the back door with eyebrows scrunched in worry. Even her troubled voice sounded like a melody to his ears betwixt the rough male baritones.

She dropped on her knees beside him and stretched her slender arms. Without thinking, Arush dived into the hug and felt himself being squeezed affectionately.
Arni's soft skin engulfed her son as soon as he crashed against her petite torso.

Chandrajey breathed into the proximity while she rocked back and forth to calm him down.
The men watched them silently while postulating what caused him to freak out like that.

He even scared his young brother.
Abhimanyu was clutching Krishna's vesture while staring at the mother and son duo nuzzling with each other.

Poor Chandraputri almost had her heart rise up to her throat when she heard him screaming.
She had gone to the nearby hill to fetch clay to make pots. Her hands were covered in mud, but that did not matter to any of them.
They left stains on Arush's body as she rubbed his back soothingly.

"Must have been another nightmare. He gets them often." Govind filled them in with the information.

"What does jiji do to calm him down? He's still shaking." Kairavi asked, pressing his head to her chest.
She could feel his heart throbbing against his ears.

"She usually holds him till he stops crying. And then gives him some warm milk to drink."
Instantly, she gave Sahadev a look and he nodded.
He left the room to fetch the milk while Nakul and Madhav, carrying little Abhi, crouched down near Arni.

"Was it the same dream again, son?" Dwarkadheesh inquired, but he was too mortified to answer.
"What do you mean by the same dream?" The eldest Madrinandan immediately fired a question.

Krishna sighed, "He says that a scary-looking man walks around with a small weapon, covered in blood.
And then he disappears into the darkness and a woman screams. It's never lucid."

"How long has he been getting them?"

"He used to jolt up in the middle of the night as an infant as well."

"Hey Ishwar." She glanced up at Nakul, who had the same expression as hers.
"My poor son." She kissed the top of his head while trying to steady his quivering body.

"Is there something that triggers it?" Her husband asked the accomplished chakradhari.
"There might be." He mumbled without breaking eye-contact with the daughter of the moon.