"Oh, my God! We need to get to The Springs." Bela exclaimed. "The others might be in danger."

Bhairavi nodded, trying to get off the bed, "Exactly. Oops!" 

Had it not been for Bela's strong arm hooking around her waist, steadying her, Bhairavi would have landed flat on her face. 

"Watch it, will you? I told you, you are in no condition to move!"

Shame and embarrassment washed over the concerned woman in waves. Bhagwanta, please forgive me for hurting her. "I am sorry for being insensitive earlier." Tears of apology rolled down her cheeks. "I am not usually like this."

"Clearly." Bela rolled her eyes. "I know you are not. Now stay here. I will go get something for you to eat. And electrolytes. You look dehydrated."

"Before you go, could you help me to the washroom?"

Bela returned to find Bhairavi looking hale and hearty- like the last few hours hadn't happened at all- going through her travel documents. The itinerary, to be precise. Unlike minutes ago, when she looked like any movement would result in her demise, she seemed full of life. 

What in the name of Lord Rama is going on!? Bela wondered. 

"Hey," Bhairavi glanced up, waving the sheet of paper, beckoning her new friend closer. "Look what I found."

Bela approached cautiously. "You look-"

"Better." The now cheerful woman finished for her. "I feel better...better than ever. I guess I just needed to wash my face, confide in a friend and pray to Shree Ram. You will think me silly for saying this, but I think I looked the way I did because something supernatural is at work. After you left, I recalled that last night was the first time in decades that I went to bed without praying." Bhairavi bit her lips and searched Bela's eyes, expecting her to laugh it off or judge her naive thinking. However, the latter did nothing of that sort. Instead, Bhairavi watched as a faint tint of pink colored the younger woman's cheeks, leaving her confused. 

Bela cleared her throat. Ignoring the warmth spreading through her, she hastily took the document. "I won't comment on it if that's what you are expecting, but there is definitely something fishy going on, and I won't be able to rest easy till I get to the bottom of this matter!"

Bhairavi smiled, relieved. Then drawing the lawyer's attention to the document, she went on. "Raghav is not following the program schedule. I understand him skipping the visit to the banks of Jhelum after what happened to Amrit-ji, but why did he cancel the culture walk and gondola ride scheduled for today?"

"Beats me." Bela shrugged. "I guess the only way to find out is to go to The Springs. Let's call Raghav."

Bhairavi's face fell, "I did. And Golu too. But I can't seem to get through to either of them. Any suggestions?"

Bela contemplated for a bit; then, "If we walk down to the main road, I think we might get a ride to the springs."

"Yes. Of course! Let's do that." Bhairavi jumped to her feet. "But I think we can cover more ground if we split up."

Bela narrowed her eyes. A hit of excitement danced in their depths like that was what she had been craving forever. "What did you have in mind?"

*****

An hour's trek had brought the women to the main road, where Bela immediately caught a ride to Jiddal Gaon to enquire about the widows: Nans, The Raina group was supposedly taking care of. 

Meanwhile, with every second that sped by, Bhairavi's frustration grew.

One, she had not found The Springs on Google Maps. 

And two, since Bela's departure almost fifty minutes ago, not even one vehicle had passed her. In fact, she hadn't even seen a stray dog, leave alone a human, loitering on the so-called main road!

Frustration turned into despair soon after. It felt to Bhairavi like everyone had abandoned her. Anxiety danced at the edge of her conciseness. Think good thoughts. Think good thoughts. She repeated, but she couldn't think of anything pleasant as the conversation between Raghav and Golu that she had overheard the night before played like a broken record in her mind, rendering her incapable of any other thoughts, intelligent or otherwise. 

'Bhagwanta, where is my Mia?' Bhairavi raised her eyes heavenward. 

A ding went off from somewhere inside her purse a moment later, 'Stupid WhatsApp notifications!' Bhairavi snapped irritatedly, but right before she dropped the phone back in her backpack, it dawned on her that even though she didn't know where her child was, her mobile, which was linked to her daughter's, would know! 

Opening the app Maithili had reluctantly agreed to install on her phone just for her peace of mind, Bhairavi checked her daughter's location. 

The place where the red dot was hovering over was nameless and about a fifty minutes drive from where she was stranded.

Now with her destination problem sorted, she wondered how she could get to The Springs. 'It doesn't seem too far,' she concluded, eyeing the shortcut on the map. She would have to pass through the woods to do that. The research she had done before arriving at The Valley and the free flora and fauna lessons her dad had the habit of blessing her with off and on throughout her childhood made her confident that the woods in these parts were relatively safe. 

Sending a prayer to the powers-that-be, she stepped towards the formidable-looking thicket when the sound of an approaching vehicle made her stop. 

If this one doesn't stop, I will walk there! With her mind made up, Bhairavi turned to face the source of the sound and raised her hand, pointing to her where she wanted to go. 

A taxi! What luck! A tiny flame of hope made its home in Bhairavi's heart as she eyed the white car approaching her and leaned towards the road, trying to catch the driver's attention. 

The vehicle, thank heavens, slowed to a stop in front of her, and a moment later, a head peeked out of the open window of the driver's seat. 

The young man with bright eyes, curly salt and pepper hair, and pierced ears with round earrings dangling from them commented, "Aunty-ji, this is not a place for a woman to be roaming alone. Can I help you get somewhere?"

Though the young man had more gray than black on his head, Bhairavi could bet that he was no more than twenty. "Beta, thank you for your concern." She was a good judge of character, or so she thought, and the one who had appeared out of nowhere, offering to help her seemed like a gem of a person. He did not look like he belonged in the car, whose make had skipped Bhairavi's notice. Both his aura and manners screamed royalty. 

She held the phone in front of the man's face. "Do you know this place?"

The youth bobbed his head. "Yes."

"Can you get me there?"

"I can get you where you need to be." The youth replied cheerfully and threw the backdoor of the tiny car open, cautioning, "Please watch your head, Aunty-ji." 

"Thank you, son." Bhairavi smiled and climbed into the back seat. The man in the driver's seat was a stranger. Bhairavi should have been scared, but she wasn't. If anything, as soon as she made herself comfortable, she felt like she had come home. Warmth and a sense of security replaced her fears and apprehensions as she bathed in the positive energy radiating from her designated driver.

"You can call me Dheera." He introduced himself, reducing the stereo's volume that seemed to be playing a familiar tune, and asked, "So, what brings you to the Valley?"

"I came here with my daughter for a vacation."

"And why isn't she with you?"

"She is at the springs. It was my fault. I overslept." Bhairavi wasn't sure why she was being so openly honest with a man she had just met. 

There is just something about him… 

"Ah! That makes sense. So, are you in a hurry? I mean, to get to the springs."

"Yes. Why?"

"Would you mind if we made a small pit-stop on the way? My mother's namesake needs me, you see. It will only take a moment."

"Oh." For the first time, Bhairavi glanced at the cab's meter. It wasn't running. 

"I am off duty." Bhairavi caught his lopsided, borderline-awkward smile from the rearview mirror. "But you looked like you needed help. So… " The man sporting a saffron T-shirt trailed off. 

He came to me like a gift from Shree Ram. It's the least I can do, right? Moreover, his mother's namesake needs him. The woman must be close to him. Bhairavi contemplated and agreed, "Sure. Let's do that. I hope she is well."

"She will be now. Thanks to you."

Bhairavi found the reply odd but didn't think much of it. Trying to change the subject, she enquired, "You look like you are from a well-to-do family. How come you drive a cab?"

"Maybe I like helping people out of sticky situations." He chuckled disarmingly. Then, "Actually, it's a family business. We take pride in helping people to where they need to be, you see?"

That makes more sense; he is a transport tycoon's son. "Are you a local?" Bhairavi guessed. 

"I am from anywhere and everywhere." He caught her eyes from the front mirror, "I go wherever I am needed."

The youngster's cryptic answers didn't deter her. "It must be nice. You must have seen many places in your travels."

"Yes, Aunty-ji. But I like to stay as close to home as possible. What about you?"

"I enjoy traveling." No sooner did she reply than something occurred to her. He must know something about the Rainas! "Say, do you know about The Valley? It's a couple of kilometers from where you found me."

"Yes."

"Is it true that the Rainas adopted it and converted it into a tourist attraction?"

"Yes. That and every inch of this place belongs to the Rainas."

Alarm bells went off in Bhairavi's head. "What about Jiddal Gaon?" 

"That too."

No. No. No. No. No! Cold sweat rolled down her temple. I sent Bela there! I hope she is alright! A split second later, another, more worrying, question popped into her head. Trying to keep her voice from shaking, she asked, "Beta-ji, what about the springs?"

"That too." The man shrugged. "In fact, there is only one place I know of that is rumored to not belong to them."

Bhairavi's heart dropped to her knees. There was just something about how her savior had said Them that made uneasiness return to her heart. "And where would that be?"

"A place lost in time, buried in the heart of Kashyapi Hillock, in the heart of The Valley. Legend has it that no harm would come to those who sought shelter there. It is a place where things that go bump in the night-" The man turned with a mischievous glint in the eye, "-can't set foot."

"D...does it have a name?" She muttered, barely audible to herself. 

The query obviously didn't reach Dheera, who turned his concentration back on the road. Bhairavi was about to voice her question again when he turned the car sharply to the left, bringing it to a stop a few hundred meters from a building with a Red Cross sign adorning its middle. "Aunty-ji, if you could please excuse me..." 

"Sure. I will wait."

"It might take a few minutes. Why don't you stretch your legs?"

Bhairavi was fine where she was. The drive hadn't been long enough to make her legs fall asleep. But when she opened her mouth to reply, the words "That seems like a good idea." dropped from her lips. 

It won't look good if I keep sitting after agreeing with him, would it? Bhairavi sighed; stepping out of the vehicle, she watched the saffron-colored T-shirt disappear from her line of sight. Then bringing out her phone, she checked her location. She couldn't believe her eyes.

She was now twice as far away from The Springs as she was when she had boarded the cab! 

Chapter Word Count: 2062
Word Count so far: 16233