Kairavi

Chapter 94

It took a little while but finally, Kairavi was able to calm her son. He kept staring at the space before him, leaning against her torso.

The sleep in his eyes was lost somewhere in the middle of the chaos and it didn't seem like he was going to get any that night.
But nonetheless, he was peaceful.

A thin layer of milk skin surfaced upon the small vessel kept beside them.
Arush looked like he was in no mood of drinking milk, so Arni didn't push him.

It was getting dark outside just as he saw in his nightmare.
However, fear couldn't wrap its tentacles around his ankles as long as he was in his mother's lap.
She peeked down to check if he had fallen back asleep, but he hadn't.

"Putra, do you want to play outside with Abhimanyu? Your kakashrees are playing with him, look!" She pointed at the doorway.
Soubhadra could be seen running around the arcade while Nakul and Sahadev chased him.

The scene was heartwarming because her husbands ran intentionally slow behind him as he sprinted across the area, cackling exuberantly.
A part of her wanted him to join them whereas, another part didn't want to force him to anything beyond his wishes.

Arush seemed in a dilemma.
As much as he wanted to outrun his fathers and catch his little brother, he was apprehensive to step outside.
The setting of twilight was enough to throw him into a panic once again.

"Abhimanyu! Why aren't you including your bhrata in the game?" Govind was sitting on a raised platform beneath a banyan tree. He was visible from inside the hut, if Arni and Arush looked out of the window next to them.

"Go call him!" Abhimanyu skipped inside and stood before Kairavi. Watching Chandrajey, he was put into a tricky situation, whether to ask him to play or not.
"Look, who's here to take you outside?" She cooed at the child in her arms.

Arush laid motionless. Only his eyes flickered towards his sibling and stayed there.
"Come on, jyeshth! It's fun. Kakashree cannot catch me.
And I'm sure they won't be able to get you either." Nakul and Sahadev grinned while peering at their nephew.

"Mata, you know, he can run faster than all of our friends. Nobody wins against him!"
"Really? That's very impressive." She examined his face, which was slowly regaining color now.

"Why don't you show me, Arush? Let's go, I wanna see my son play." He whined a little when she stood up and carried him to the exterior of the shack.
Just as soon as she stepped outside, he wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and buried his face into the crook.

The twins and Chandreya exchanged a look before Nakul came forward to persuade him.

"What happened? See, nobody is going to scare you, son. Your parents are here to protect you." He rubbed his back.
"Yes, there's nothing to worry about. See, Abhi is playing too."

Kairavi and Nakul's words were tempting.
He lifted his head up and bit his lower lip, considering the offer.

"Even small things have big shadows, son. If something scares you, you face it with courage and not run away from it."
Sahadev called out while swinging the other child in his arms.

"When you grow up, you will be a great warrior.
Your great grandfather, Devavrat Bhishm himself, will be your mentor; and then you won't need anybody to protect you." The eldest Madreya coaxed a little more.

"What if he comes out from the dark?" For the first time in hours, a small voice spoke up, almost whimpering.

"Have you heard about your father? He can shoot arrows with expertise, even in complete darkness.
Tell me, would he be able to do it if he was scared of it?"
Arush shook his head at Chandraja's statement while Nakul's face fell.

Nevertheless, he shrugged it off his shoulders and put on a smile.

Adityansh glanced at his mother one last time with uncertain eyes. She nodded reassuringly and set him down.

A few hesitant steps were followed by confident strides when he was finally able to trust the people around him. Nakul stalked him as he skipped towards his twin.
Arush sprang on his heels, asking the youngest Pandav to swing him around as well, just like Abhimanyu.

It didn't take him long to begin playing whole-heartedly with the three.
Soon, chirpy laughs from both the kids resonated in the atmosphere as they jumped up and down excitedly.

Sometimes the Ashwineys knelt on the ground, playing horses while Abhimanyu and Arush climbed up on their backs and bounced on their waists, yelling as if they were professional riders.

On the other hand, Chitrakshi walked over to her sakha and took a seat beside him.
"I know what's going through your head." He chuckled but she didn't follow suit.

"Why does he get such terrible dreams, Govind? What do they mean?" She skipped beating around the bush and came straight to the point.
Krishna shook his head and turned sideways to look her in the eye. "I don't know about that."

"You do. Stop lying." She immediately went into defensive mode.
"How do you lie so boldly, Madhav? Don't you feel any remorse afterward?" She snapped, her tone accusing.

"Why have you assumed that I would know everything, sakhi?

Aakhir mai bhi toh manushya hi hu na?"