KRISHAVYAYAM

12. Midnight Snack Hunt

The aroma of fresh green herbs and ginger wafted the kitchen area, mild tinkles of anklets accompanied with a slow hum vying a serenade. Kamalnayani's musings and songs were ever indeed a serenade, lost in the eyes of a man of twisted morals and principles, the catalyst of dharma in the land of Bharata. Shuffled feets and hushed signals broke her little utopia consisting of solitude. At the witchy hour of a full moon night, the sun of Panchala dreamt of the moon of Yadavas, her caged feelings and feigned fury morbidly amusing to the bearer of Sudarshana.

She inclined her head, expecting to see a single silhouette in the dark but witnessed too many. Silence. She did anticipate some moments and a little here and there muffled whispers, funny how they thought they hadn't been caught yet.

"Bhrata Dhrishta, need something?" She smiled, highly amused, and then all the figures emerged out from the rim cloaked with a sooty dark aura.

"Ramachandra!" She chuckled as the sheepish visitors, all either blushing red or rubbing their napes.

"Finally! The most accurate response to this . . . this madness," Rukmini spoke from beside Satyabhama, leaning her head against the latter's shoulder who broadly smiled, all zealous and sleepless.

"Did- did I just spoil some kind of party? I am so sorry, I was just here-" Kamalnayani looked expectantly at the people who shook their heads in negation at once before Bhima rushed to her, taking a seat beside.

"Na na, we were anyway going to wake you up. I am hungry, and Dhrishta is too." He pointed towards the man who blinked at his sister.

"Yes please tell him, I can't butcher my sleep anymore. Gods! Why is it always me accompanying him compulsorily at his midnight snack hunts?" Nakula whined in between, smearing his face on the gentle giant's forearm as he clung to it.

"How did you know it's me?" Dhrishtadyumna pointed out.

"Weirdly enough, I can differentiate people by their footfalls. Everyone has patterns, different ones and I have kinda memorised every family member's," she slowly spoke, sticking her tongue out sheepishly.

"Our parents didn't raise a girl, they raised a superhuman." Shikhandini chuckled, before Bhima scooted to give the two sisters space.

"A superhuman is an extravagant word. I am normal, as normal as it can be."

"So, little champ, didn't sleep yet?" The former raised a brow when Kamalnayani rested her head against her sister's shoulder, shaking her head as the others adjusted themselves on the tables and chairs here and there.

"Let me guess— you neglected yourself and now you need lemongrass tea to subdue the strain?"

"Are you a superhuman?" She looked up, tilting her head as the latter laughed shaking her head fondly.

"Darling sister, who knows you better than me?"

"You're not wrong," the damsel lazily mumbled, closing her eyes, totally missing how Kanha had taken a seat beside her while others were smirking at him. "I am tired but sleep won't come to me. What should I do?"

"You should tell us where the sweets are kept, because they are a priority." Bhima nodded sagely as a giggle cracked from her lips, the index finger shooting up to indicate the locations.