Suhita stared at her surroundings and wondered what she was doing. Sighing at her own insanity, she exhaled the breath she was holding and inhaled the strong scent of the incense sticks. She was shocked for a moment when someone barged from the front door crying aloud.

Probably one of the weirdest things she did in a while-attending a funeral of a stranger to complete her paper in psychology. The others around her prayed for the moksha (salutation) of the demised one, there she was praying that she should not be caught.

Though she had a choice of exploring her topic in the 'Web' she declared long back that she had enough of Internet for a decade.

After quite a while the loud shrieks and cries were soothing her wavered thoughts which reminded her of the poem she learnt in her childhood that the more you chew the bitter neem, the sweeter it becomes just as the more you eat the tasty vadas (southern Indian dish) the bitter it becomes. It took her some time to decode and understand the metaphor and the depth of the poem.

Thinking about the excuses to come up with if someone asks her how she is related to their demised loved one, she stopped the voice recorder and lifted the call absent-mindedly. Her mother's voice ringed in her ears as she looked at the group of youngsters who were taking selfies with the dead man. She shifted her gaze towards her left side when she felt a movement.

A pair of dark orbs stared at her intensely which sent chills down her spine. Her words were struck in her throat, her voice muffled. Taking deep breaths she slowly walked towards the front door and exited from the house. Clutching her mobile tightly she dared not to turn back as she felt that dark eyes following her.

With fear lacing in her voice, she yelled into her mobile,"MOM! I'M SCARED!!!"

"Don't be a baby, Suhi."

"I'm not, but I am scared of a baby dog!"

"You mean a puppy?"

As the puppy started to come after her, she ran for her mere life. The thought that we shouldn't run when a dog chases us slipped from her mind.