*Year 2006, Singhania Villa*
The children sat close together in a loose circle upon the soft carpet. A golden lamp in the corner spilled a warm glow across the room. At the center of the room sat a woman. She was thirty-eight now, though there was something about her presence that made time feel unreal.
"Bachon, do you know that there are 14 lokas in our universe?" the woman asked as she turned a page of an old book that she held. The kids looked at the woman with fascination.
"They are Satyaloka, Tapoloka, Janaloka, Maharloka, Swargaloka, Bhuvarloka, Bhuloka, Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala, and Patala. And, we live in the Bhuloka realm." She turned to the next page.
"Then… who lives in all those other lokas?" Aastha asked quietly, moving closer to her sister, Shreya.
"Well beta, in Satyaloka resides the Brahma, the creator of the universe and the Siddhas live in the Tapoloka. Rishis meditate in the Janaloka, sages in Maharloka, Devas in Swargaloka, spirits and souls in Bhuvarloka. These are the higher lokas, above our world. Then, comes the lower lokas. Pishachs in Atala, Bhairavs in Vitala, King Mahabali rules the Sutala, Mayavis in Talatala, shape-shifting serpents in Mahatala, Daityas in Rasatala and finally the great demons rule Patala." She slowly turned the next page.
Kairav spoke up, "But Chachi, I have heard Papa say that there are rakt pishach here in our world."
Madhu smiled gently. "Well, I was just about to tell you that part," she said softly. "The beings who live in Bhuloka and the lower lokas are usually not allowed to leave their own worlds. But there is one special creature that can travel between different lokas. It is called the rakt pishach."
"Woahh! That's so cool." Prem exclaimed.
"Well, the Rakt Pishachs were never born as separate beings, they were not god's creation," Madhu explained. "Long ago, they came into existence when a Pishach from Atala drank human blood for the very first time."
"What's the story then?" Smruti questioned.
"Long long ago, a human was punished for his bad deeds and was cursed to be trapped in Atala. There, a pishach tried to feed on him. But the moment it tasted human blood, its body burst into flames and turned into ashes. This is because pishachs were never meant to drink blood, they were less hostile."
The children stared at her with wide eyes as she turned the page slowly.
"And from those ashes, a new creature was born… the rakt pishach. Unlike ordinary pishachs, they were powerful and could drink blood. More like blood was needed the most. And, as these creatures always stayed hidden, no one could put limitations on them. They were free." Madhu gently moved her hands through her hair slightly, "around 6000 years ago," she said, "these Rakt Pishachs came into our realm because they wanted to drink human blood. Over time, when our people started seeing them, they got the name vampires." Madhu flipped the page.
"These vampires could live for hundreds and thousands of years. Because of that, people began calling them immortals. To move among humans quietly, they started taking human forms, but they were a little different from ordinary people."
Aarav blinked curiously. "Different how, Maa?" Madhu smiled faintly. "Beta, they were unbelievably beautiful. Their beauty looked almost magical. Remember the very first Rakt Pishach? When he died, his blood was collected in a golden vase. It is said that when the other Rakt Pishach tasted even a single drop of that blood, they transformed into human forms. And they became extremely pretty. Their skin was pale like white paper, and their eyes glowed deep red in the dark. They could easily hypnotize people and lure them... something that could hold you helpless. Their eyes could pull you in and leave you unable to escape." She closed the book slightly. "And then…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "They would kill."
She murmured under her breath as the children were distracted. "Like Alkesh."
Smruti suddenly asked, "What about weaknesses?"
Madhu giggled. "Yes. They have weaknesses. They were scared of garlic, and sunlight could badly hurt them. Some old legends even say that a vampire could change its human face once in its lifetime."
The kids looked frightened now. But Smruti spoke up softly, "What about love? There's no love story?"
Madhu smiled at her warmly. "You always live in fairy tales and love stories, don't you?" Smruti let out a small childish giggle.
Madhu's expression slowly changed as she looked at the children again. "There was a love story. But it was not a fairy tale. It was a forbidden love. Among the bloodline of the very first rakt pishach, generations after generations later, there was a prince who became one of the greatest kings of their empire. But... he fell in love with a human."
The room fell silent.
"The human never saw him as a monster, and vampire never tried to lure the human with his powers. They simply fell in love. They cared for each other deeply." Madhu lowered her voice. "But their love was never accepted. The empire of the rakt pishach hated them, and when the humans discovered that a vampire and a human were together, they too rejected them. To both worlds, such a love was forbidden."
The children listened without blinking.
"War and hatred grew around them. In the middle of that, the human was killed by the rakt pishach community. Some say it happened because the empire feared what their love could become." Madhu paused for a moment. "It is also said that the human and the vampire had a child together. A child who should never have existed according to the laws of the world. A child born between darkness and humanity." Madhu sighed.
"That loss shattered the vampire king completely. In the end, unable to live without the one he loved, he chose death himself, believing that beyond the mortal world, their souls would meet again."
Shreya whispered softly, "That love was so deep that he died just to be with the person he loved. A forbidden love."
Madhu kept the book on the table. "Okay, okay. Enough with stories. Now sleep-time. Go to sleep, kids."
One by one, the children lay down on the bed, their minds full of wonder, their eyes slowly closing as sleep claimed them. The room grew quiet again, filled only with the soft breathing. Madhu picked up the book and walked toward the door, her steps soundless.
As Madhu switched off the lights, Ananya stirred awake and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Taiji," she mumbled, "have you ever seen a vampire?"
Madhu froze for a moment. She slowly turned around and looked at the little girl on the bed. For a few seconds, she said nothing. Then a faint smile appeared on her lips. "No… not yet…"
Hearing her answer, Ananya yawned and quickly drifted back to sleep. But she missed one thing. In the darkness of the room, Madhu's eyes slowly began to glow a deep, haunting red.
* * *
The corridor stretched long and silent, wrapped in a dim, ghostly glow of the moonlight. The air was cold as Madhu walked to the far end of the hallway, where a massive portrait of the Singhania family hung upon the wall. She slowly lifted her hand and touched the painting. Moonlight spilled across her fingers. Slowly, her skin began losing its colour, turning pale as paper beneath the silver glow.
"When a vampire bites or scratches a human, the change begins slowly. The body starts to decay even while alive, fading little by little until the person turns into those bloodthirsty vampires." She spoke, her voice was quieter. She faced the moon and her entire face looked pale as a corpse. Her eyes glowing red in the moonlight. "After that night, I began to rot a little more with each passing day, turning into a vampire. The hunger for blood keeps growing inside me. Every second feels like a battle to hold myself back. But… not anymore. I cannot keep protecting this family forever."
She pressed both hands tightly against her ears, her breathing uneven. "I still hear them," she whispered. "Those demonic shrieks… still echoing inside my head." Her eyes widened with fear. "My senses became sharper after the transformation. I can hear things no human should ever hear. The creatures lurking out there." A cold silence swallowed the hallway.
"I cannot protect the Singhanias from those vampires. I cannot fight them." Her voice cracked. "I am weak now. Neither fully human… nor a true vampire."
Slowly, she turned toward the painting. "The future of the Singhanias is cursed," she murmured. "Those creatures are coming for us. For this family. For that blood." Her fingers trembled violently. "And when they arrive… they will spare no one—"
A shriek erupted as a creature lunged at Madhu. No time for scream as its jaws unhinging with a wet snap. Fangs plunged into her neck, blood flowing like a river. The sound was obscene—rip of flesh yielding like overripe fruit, blood erupting in arcs, drenching her sari in blood, and pooling on marble.
A nightmare given shape. Her body jerked, but she was helpless now. Her breath caught in her throat, strangled before it could become a scream. Pain exploded through her, sharp and immediate. Her hands rose instinctively, trying to push the creature away, trying to fight the creature. But it was stronger, far stronger.
It bit again, deeper, crueler. And, this time, it did not just pierce. It tore.
A piece of her flesh ripped away under its teeth, the sound of it echoing through the hall. Her voice broke into a choking, gurgling cry, the sound lost beneath the rush of blood filling her throat, spilling down her chest in thick, unstoppable streams. Her strength was gone. Her body weakened.
The creature did not stop.
It lifted her effortlessly, as though she weighed nothing at all.
Then it slammed her against the painting.
Once.
The impact cracked through the silence. The frame shuddered under the force as her forehead split open, blood smearing Krishav's face in red.
Again.
Her temple caved with a crunch, orbital bone fracturing, and one eye bulging from its socket.
Again.
Nasal bridge pulverized, cartilage exploding outward, face distorting into swollen ruin, teeth loosening in gummy sockets.
And again.
And again, relentless, each brutal slam turning bone to fragments, flesh to paste. And, the skull deformed under the onslaught. She neither resembled herself, nor anything living.
The creature finally stopped.
Only the sound of blood dripping onto marble kept on dropping. The creature released her and grabbed her by the arm. Her body scraped against the floor, leaving behind a thick, dark trail that stretched across the white marble. The scent of blood filled the hall.
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Guide:
bachon - children
lokas - realm/world
beta - child
Siddhas - ascetics
Rishis - divine sages
Devas - gods
Pishachs - ghouls
Bhairavs - forms of Shiva (maha god)
Mayavis - magical creatures
Daityas - Titan Beasts
Chachi - father's brother's wife