Love and rain have a connection since the beginning of time.

****

Once she decided upon something, Maya was adamant on completing it. And even if evening had now transformed into a night sky of ugly grey clouds that could spook anyone, Maya still remained in the house of the priest, waiting for him to wake up. Mohini assured everything was in her grip, but the detective felt the determined urge to ask for an apology from the head priest.

Finally, his eyes fluttered open, and Maya exhaled in relief. "You are fine. At least you will be now. Your daughter will take care of you."

The man just blinked his eyes. Maya waited for him to adjust to the reality. He groaned and propped up against a pillow. "I am growing old. I don't know how long I will be able to handle this."

"Chandrasekhara will protect you."

The priest smiled. "He always does, but as I said, I am anxious about my daughter. She is too bold for a patriarchal society."

"Then maybe I can take her under my wing." She chuckled. "But forgive me, I didn't mean to make you fall sick. It was never my intention."

"I-I understand. I am sorry too that I couldn't be of much help. I hope, as a detective, you can understand that I am bound to chains. I cannot tell you everything."

"And yet, I can read your eyes. Don't worry, Ramlal, I won't tell anyone what your daughter trusted me with."

Maya took leave from them. Outside, the streets were as empty as the hearts of the Das, and full of looming darkness, illuminated just by the faint rays of a pasty, waning moon. Dogs stared at her as she passed by them, all alone, with no human nearby. Ofte she saw shadows dancing in the distance, vanishing like a mirage when she got nearer. Up above, purple-tinged lightning tore the black sky into two halves, and then attacked the tallest trees which kissed the azure. Maya knew dying at the hands of nature would be the worst scenario now, and she made a run. Alas, as soon as she sprinted for a shelter the downpour divulged its long suppressed rage.

Khatra was crying.

Maya found an abandoned stable and entered it. She had forgotten that the month of Shravan brought with it a bowl of raindrop. Too engrossed with the case, she had forgotten to carry an umbrella with her. It was the first time she saw rain since her arrival in Khatra.

The lightning thundered and all hopes of her reaching the Das mansion began to dwindle. Would she be able to make it on time? Well, she was already late. More than it being shameful for a lady to stay out of her abode for so long after the moon had risen, it was scaring Maya that she would be stuck here for an unprecedented amount of time.

"What are you doing there, Maya?"

Yet, the fair Chandrashekhara was there to shield his beloved people from distress.

The furious rain created a veil of silvery drops, and even if it was difficult to look through it, Maya saw the doctor coming towards her. He carried an umbrella, but it was doing very little to keep him dry. "You didn't go back to the mansion?"

"I-I got late."

"Foolish girl! Don't investigate so late till night. You should be more careful." He gestured Maya to come under his umbrella. "My home is just near. Maybe you have forgotten the directions but of course I know. Come, we have to make a run! It's better than being caught up here."

"But–" Before Maya could protest, Raktim dragged her under his umbrella and ran for his life. The umbrella was now all above Maya and soon Raktim was soaking wet.

"You are the bigger fool here! Just look at yourself!" Maya screamed above the rumbling rain.

"I know the best! I cannot let you fall ill."

Running and panting, the two finally reached his house. "Thank god I carried an umbrella. You should carry one too. Even though it doesn't help much..." He fidgeted through the stuff to find the keys and then opened the lock.

Raktim turned on the lights and gave Maya a gamcha to wipe herself. "Thank–achoo!" She sneezed. "Oh god, reaction started."

"Don't be afraid when you have a doctor beside you," Raktim said while thumping his chest. "I will quickly prepare an effective concoction for you. No fever or cold will dare to touch you ever."

Maya sat on the khatia and peeked at the doctor throwing random spices into a glass and crushing leaves which appeared to be mint. He mixed those with spoonful of honey and hot water. He came back and asked Maya to drink it.

Maya scrunched her nose after one little sip. "It's so raw."

"Don't complain. You want to be fit, don't you?"

Maya shrugged and gulped down the liquid in one go. "Well, now what?"

"What?"

"What's the time?"

Raktim looked at his wristwatch. It was ten minutes past eight, and still raining outside.

Maya didn't know if this was what she imagined herself in. Being in Raktim's house was definitely better than being in that filthy stable, but he was a man. And however modern would have bee her ideals, she hesitated to be under the same roof with a man she had no relation with, for a whole night.

"This must be very unpleasant for you, Maya. I don't know what to blame, the rain or fate."

"The fate which is now raining."

"Possibly." Raktim cleared his throat and rubbed his sweaty hands. He was tense, at a loss for words, and clearly too red, and his milky complexion didn't do anything to hide the scarlet flush. "I am not a bad person. I just want to help you."

Maya raised a brow.

Raktim continued, "See, I don't think the rain will be stopping any soon. You can never predict. So the only choice left now–"

"–is to stay here, with you, in your house. But–"

"Ah, wait! Don't get all riled up." He waved his hands to clear the awkwardness. "You are on the khatia. I sleep in the kitchen. And I cook for you. I have so much food in my house. You can eat anything and everything."

Raktim held his breath. Maya's burning gaze was judging him too much. And poor him just wanted to help.

"Okay."

Life returned to Raktim. "Since it's raining heavily, how about we make some fritters? All kinds of it."

"Good idea." Maya smiled.

"Then get ready for the greatest meal of your life!" Raktim began changing his attire– unbuttoning his tunic and pulling it over his head, only realising midway that he wasn't all alone. A terrified Maya looked away with fuming nostrils, muttering curses under her breath. "I am sorry!" Raktim apologised. "It's a habit you see. I-I will go somewhere else." He took a fresh tunic and ran for the kitchen. Well, that would be where he would change from now on to honour the lady's feelings.

After getting on dry clothes and drinking a concoction like Maya, he set to cooking. Maya stood in the entrance of the kitchen and watched him swiftly cut the vegetables– chop chop, slice, pierce through, juices overflowing and piles of edibles waiting to be fried and boiled. He dipped the different items– potatoes, brinjals, raw bananas– in a batter of besan and flour and let them dive into a kadai of boiling oil. He sprinkled black pepper from above, and Maya's stomach grumbled at the smell of fat and spice wafting to her nose. Instead of satiating, her hunger only increased. Raktim made the curries from lunchtime hotter for eating. The rice was also done in half and hour. He drained the water and then said, "It's ready. We can sit down for the meal."

He put on a mattress for the two of them. In front of Maya came a plate of bhat, various types of fritters, cauliflower curry, rohu curry and mango pickle. "Looks simple and delicious." She munched on the fritters. "This reminds me of my grandma so much. She used to make these for me when I was little."

"Glad that you are liking it. It always makes us villagers feel fulfilled when we can serve a newcomer well and make them feel welcomed."

Only now Maya observed the odd thing in the room. While she was having one plate of food, Raktim sat with two, each having twice the amount of rice than what she had. Casually he finished his first plate and then moved on to his second. A shocked Maya forgot to eat her own food and stared at him with her mouth agape. Raktim moaned in satisfaction and licked his lips. Only after a long time did sanity return to him, and he saw the state of astonishment Maya was in. He hung his face in discomfiture. "This must be such an appalling sight. I am being disgraceful."

Maya couldn't keep it in any longer. She burst into a frenzy of laughter and roared above the maddening thunder. "You eat so much! Oh you should, to maintain this humongous stature!"

Raktim pushed away his second plate half-heartedly, feeling overwhelmingly self-conscious. Maya realised her mistake. "Forgive me, Raktim. I didn't want to be rude!" She softly beamed at him. "You are so nice, aren't you?" Raktim blushed a deeper shade. "Or is this a facade?"

"Alright, I-I won't eat..."

"No, I asked if you are nice or not. Are you a good man? Tell me!"

"You decide for yourself. Some like the Das will think I am bad and some like Mohini will think I am a kind soul. It really depends."

"You despise the Das, don't you?"

"They despise me. I just avoid them. I don't want to poke my nose into their affairs."

"I actually had been wondering about this– how did you know that they are vampires? Are the rest aware of it too?"

"I don't think others know it, but some may suspect something is fishy about them." Raktim heaved a sigh. "And as of me, I slowly began finding how the Das had complicated and often adverse reactions to certain herbal medicines, and their allergies towards garlic and silver. One day they confessed to me, so that I could treat them better. Like, as vampires their taste buds are very weak and they often cannot relish what normal humans eat. So I am working on improving their tastes."

"That's why they thought Khirodh's cooking was brilliant, when in reality she never added salt and sugar."

"Please don't eat their food. God knows what all they put in there."

"Well, what do you think about Khirodh and Mrinmoyee?"

"Pitiable women. You have been staying in the mansion for quite some time, so you know how they get treated. As vampires they have some twisted rules in the house. It makes me cringe." Raktim shivered.

"I saved Khirodh from Manihar. Not that the men were pleased with it, but Khirodh was grateful."

Raktim's face darkened. His every fibre knotted in vexation. "I-I really wish the men are all dead." His eyes glinted with malice. "I hate such people from the core of my heart. Anyways, let's not talk about these stuff while eating. Maya, finish your food."

Even though Maya asked Raktim to complete the second plate, he refused to eat any more, possibly out of embarrassment. Maya felt she was just messing things up today, starting from Ramlal to now this doctor.

Time passed and the two spent it in quietude. It still rained, and would probably last a whole night. Maya washed her hands and feet and got ready for sleep. Raktim gave her a blanket and wished her sweet dreams. He took a mattress and went and slept in the kitchen.

Maya rolled up in the posture of a foetus, the cold weather sending chill down her bones. Her eyelids became heavier with time. Tired of all thoughts of if she should even be in Raktim's house or not, she stopped those infiltrating feelings and succumbed to slumber.

****

There was a lot of cawing and sounds of utensils clashing with one another, perhaps someone hitting it with their beaks. Maya turned from side to side in her sleep, and then finally awoke. It was midnight and the rain had stopped, but still some peculiar noises where coming from the kitchen.

Maya thought she would be catching him eating again. On her tip toes, she went and looked inside, only to find her guess being correct.

But in a rather bloated and exaggerated way.

In front of Raktim was the meat of a whole goat. Not just ten or twelve pieces, but a whole goat, along with the chunks of melting fat. Shirtless and contended with the tasty red meat, he ate it with all his joy and even fed the gang of crows that surrounded him. The birds were not even fighting for the food. Raktim gave them bits of the meat covered in delicious gravy and they ate like obedient children.

Maya tried to find a red-eyed crow in there, but there was none. Yet, what she was seeing was something extremely unrealistic, and yet true to her eyes.

On focusing more, she noticed a scar on Raktim's neck. The crows would often perch on his shoulder one by one and rub their soft heads delicately on that wound, as if trying to cure it in vain.

And immediately, the puzzle pieces began arranging themselves.

Maya was close, very close to unearthing it all.