Adhiraman excitedly opened the door in the hope to see his son. But he was shocked to see the scene before his doorsteps.

A huge number of guards with torches surrounded his house. The Village Chief walked from the group of guards and stood imposingly before him. The fat landlord was standing beside the village chief with a respectful expression.

Adhiraman respectfully bowed before the Village chief and faltered while speaking,

“How…..how can I be of help to you, Village Chief?”

The village chief questioned, “Where is your son?”

Adhiraman had a sad expression on his face as he replied,

“My son hasn’t arrived yet my lord. Is there anything that I can help you with, in my son’s stead.”

The village chief replied solemnly,

“There is nothing serious like that. We are checking all houses in the village to ensure the number of casualties in today’s incident. If your son returns just inform me about it.”

Saying so, the village chief waved his hand casually and all the guards left the place alongside the village chief.

Adhiraman closed the door and informed his wife about the matter. The couple had a worried expression on their face as they waited patiently in the hope for their son to return.

Meanwhile, the village chief and the rest of the party gathered at the village square. The village chief dismissed all people and silently stared at the fat landlord with a piercing gaze.

The fat landlord felt like he was laying down on pins and needles under the scrutinizing gaze of the village chief. Unable to bear the gaze, the fat landlord asked politely,

“What can I do for you, My Lord? Feel free to use the services of this poor subject.”

The village chief looked at the fat landlord with a disgusted expression and barked in an oppressive tone,

“Enough chit-chat! I want to know how would you compensate the village for this matter. Also, there is the matter of lives of many Kshatriya lost in the battle. I want appropriate compensation for these people or else you can get ready to say goodbye to your entire assets. Also, the villagers need answers and as a competent Village Chief I need to vent their rage somewhere; or you can do the virtue of offering yourself for the task.”

The fat landlord got frightened and answered hurriedly,

“I will compensate the village with thirty percent of my entire wealth. So, please spare my family from the punishment, my lord.”

“Sixty-percent! That’s the least I would offer or else forget about this conversation” the village chief spoke without batting an eye to the ugly expression of the fat landlord.

The fat landlord inhaled sharply, that’s more than half of his wealth. If his ancestors came to know about this matter, wouldn’t they rise from the dead and bash him till he even forgot about his heritage. But what could he do to prevent this, nothing! Absolutely nothing! The village chief always wanted to gobble down the wealth of Vaishyas and this incident provided him with a suitable reason to do so.

The fat landlord could only nod weakly in aggravation. Remembering something he desperately asked the Village chief, 

“Sarpanch! What should we do about the Rakshasa? Whom should we offer as the culprit to the Rakshasa? Also, how should we calm the unrest of the Villagers regarding this matter.”

The village chief mused seriously for a while but still couldn’t figure out a way to solve this matter. This was indeed a tricky situation to handle. He was stumped to figure out a solution to this matter.

The fat landlord looked at the Village chief trying to race the horses of his brain to figure out a solution. Given how block-headed this village head was, there should be a stampede of donkeys in his brain. The fat landlord was really angry about this matter, for such a simple reason he had to part from more than half of his wealth earned by the blood and sweat of his ancestors.

None of this could have happened if his son wasn’t the offering for that Rakshasa. Everything would have been fine if that peasant would have agreed to exchange position with my son. This reminded him of the smug face that peasant made when he flatly refused his generous offer. If only….. if only that peasant had accepted his offer. He would surely make their life more miserable in the future.

The fat landlord sighed deeply, this matter stressed him to no end. Suddenly a thought popped up in his mind,

‘I would make their life more miserable. Wait a sec! the Village chief is looking for someone to bear the wraith of the angry villagers and I am trying to teach that Adhiraman an unforgettable lesson. What if I suggest to him the name of the Adhiraman for as the scapegoat that would surely put me in his good books. I would be able to use that to my advantage and may be able to earn back some of my lost wealth’ once this thought entered his mind, it firmly rooted there.

He unhesitatingly offered this suggestion to the Village chief,

“Sarpanch, I have a solution to your dilemma. Do you remember the Sudra we just visited? Why don’t we make that Sudra as our scapegoat? What do you say about this solution”

“Hum!……. That seems feasible” the village chief pondered.

“Remember it is most likely his son that stole the Rakshasa’s fruits. No, it is definitely him, who stole those fruits. We can hand him over to the Rakshasa to calm down its rage. Also, you can decide on the punishment of his family by discussing with the Brahmana Scholars” the fat landlord continued.

“Good! Indeed a good suggestion. The life of a lowly Sudra is nothing relevant in the big picture of interest of the entire village” the Village Chief nodded in approval.

Soon, the village chief departed to conduct a meeting with the Brahmana scholars. Looking at the departing back of the village chief the fat landlord had a vicious grin on his face. He had suffered great humiliation today, he would definitely pay it back ten-fold someday. The matter with the Adhiraman proved it and he wouldn’t be stopped by these tiny hurdles.

He had big dreams, he would expand his business over the entire kingdom someday. How could the village chief of a tiny village had the gall to behave so rudely to him.

------------

It was already past midnight,

Many people in the village had a sleepless night today. The wails and screams of people could be heard everywhere. The chaos and destruction the Rakshasa left in his trail made many people homeless.

Adhiraman and Mandri were worried even more after the visit from the village chief. They optimistically denied the worst possibility and patiently waited for their son.

Another five hours passed by, soon the first ray of the sun brought the arrival of dawn with it. There was a faint light in the surroundings. The birds chirped merrily, the crowing sound of rooster echoed in the village. But the atmosphere of the village was solemn, many people lifelessly supported themselves in the remains of their houses staring blankly towards the sky.

At the entrance of the village, a haggard kid with a large basket tied on his back walked sluggishly. He swaying here and there with unsteady steps, sweat was brimming on his forehead and his breaths were erratic. His face was flushed red and his eyes were bloodshot. He had a pained expression on his face and there were many small wounds on his body. His clothes were wet and were dripping with water.

The boy clutched his stomach tightly with both of his hands as he weakly walked inside the village. Seeing the death and destruction stunned him for a moment. Tears began to roll his eyes as he blankly stared at the chaotic scene before him. His expression became wary as he anxiously searched around looking for something. Seeing a dilapidated hut on one of the corners of the village his expression became cheerful as he hurried over to the hut.

The boy weakly knocked on the door and patiently waited for the door to open. He was unable to utter a single word, his body felt very hot and his stomach ached badly. He was barely able to walk up to this point.

The door was wide opened and a middle-aged man and lady walked out of the hut. They looked at the boy and were stunned before embracing him tightly. Then both of them simultaneously asked,

“Where were you our child? Are you hungry? Let me give you some food to eat first.”

They inspected the body of Rudra and tears brimmed from their eyes as they saw many wounds on his little frail body. The burning hot body of their child worried them even more as they quickly carried Rudra over to the broken cot and gently laid on it. His mother began to remove his wet clothes. 

Rudra weakly opened his mouth and uttered,

“Mother!......Father!”

Then the Rudra fainted.