"Bunty, you have to stay with Amar for two days. I'll come and take you home day after tomorrow." The neighbour spoke to his pet dog before handing him over to Amar. "Please take care of my child" He said teary eyed.

"Don't worry about him. He will be fine here. We will keep him entertained. Won't we, Vennela?" Amar turned to Vennela.

"Yes, yes. We will." Scared of its sharp teeth, Vennela was standing several feet away from Bunty, fighting the mad urge to run away. She was sweating. The neighbour thanked them and left. 

"What happened? Why are you standing there?" Amar asked her holding Bunty in his arms.

"I'm just admiring him from this angle. He looks so, um, well, he's cute." She was determined to stay away from the sharp-toothed animal. She had to command all the strength she gained from years of her yoga training to not panic. She usually runs away if she sees a dog while walking on streets.

"Yes. Bunty is a sweet and well behaved dog. You play with him. I'll prepare breakfast." said Amar.

"NO NO NO" Vennela screamed. "I mean , well, you see Amar sir,- er, Bunty didn't get used to me yet. He may not feel comfortable playing with me. So, you play with him. I'll cook." She left before Amar could say another word.

Amar shrugged. He took Bunty to the garden for a walk. "You know what, Bunty? You're very lucky. You're a part of a beautiful family. They love you like their own child. But you are growing up. You need a partner. If you ever fall in love just come and tell me. I'll talk to your family and convince them to adopt her." Amar promised Bunty, who wagged his tail happily and licked Amar's hand to thank him. 

Amar left Bunty in the small doghouse the neighbour gave him and returned. Vennela served him breakfast. He chortled at the food she served. "What happened? Why are you laughing?" asked Vennela.

"This is dog food." He said pointing at his plate. He was still laughing.

"What? Oh, I'm so sorry Amar sir. It's Bunty's bowl. I didn't notice what I was serving. I didn't mean any disrespect. This is the first time you are having something prepared by me. And I messed it up--"

"Vennela. Calm down. It's alright. It's not offensive, it's funny. In fact, it's a story worth telling our friends. Let me take a pic." Amar took out his phone to click a selfie with the dog food. Vennela snatched it away from him.

"No pictures. Okay? Don't mention it to anyone. I'll serve the food I've prepared for you" said Vennela.

Amar found the food very tasty. "Thank you. Feels good when someone cooks such tasty food for you" he said. Vennela smiled.

"Take Bunty's food to his doghouse in the garden. I need to take bath. I'm going." He left, assigning Vennela the scariest task of feeding the animal she feared the most.

He spent a lot of time in choosing a shirt. He finally decided upon a blue shirt. Blue was Vennela's favourite colour. He looked into the mirror admiring himself. 'She'll be blown away.'

Suddenly, he heard someone scream. He opened the door and Vennela came running into his room. "HELP! HELP! HE IS TRYING TO MURDER ME. PLEASE SAVE ME."

"Vennela! Vennela, calm down. What happened? Who is trying to murder you?" Amar was alert, ready to kill anyone who touched his wife.

"Bunty" she answered clutching his shirt. Bunty appeared wagging his tail. She clung to his shirt and pulled him backwards tearing it in the process. "Please ask him to go. He tried to eat my toes." 

Amar had to put a lot of effort to stop himself from laughing. "Bunty is a good boy. He won't bite anyone. He just likes licking people's toes and fingers. It is his way of showing affection. He seems to like you." He told her. 

She looked as if she might faint any moment. He called a servant and asked her to take Bunty away. Vennela was still standing behind him refusing to let go off him. "As much as I like being held by you, I think you should release me."

She then realized what she was doing and released him immediately. She was sweating profusely. She ran into the bathroom to vomit. When she returned, he made her sit and massaged her head. "Phobia of dogs?" He asked after she stopped shivering. She drank water and nodded.

"Do you remember where this fear originated from?" Amar asked her.

"It happened when I was four. I didn't remember the incident until last year when my grandma told me the reason behind my fear. I remembered bits and pieces after she told me." She said, wiping her face.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me everything you remember?" Amar was curious.

"According to grandma's story, twenty years ago when my parents and I used to stay in Kerala, mom took me to meet her childhood friend. We paid a visit to their house and -- hey, why are you taking off your shirt?"

"You tore it off. I have to change" He unbuttoned his shirt.

"Give me a warning before doing something like this" said Vennela closing her eyes tightly.

"What? Never saw a shirtless man before?" He chuckled.

"Only in the movies. Tell me once you are done." She still shut her eyes.

"Okay. I'm done." He wore a white shirt this time. "Continue the story."

"Well. We visited her house. She had a pet dog which was tied to a pole. Mom and dad were talking to her. She offered me some homemade cookies. I sat down facing the dog. I felt proud that I got a plateful of cookies while the dog had none. I mocked it by showing the cookies and asking it 'where's your plate?' "

"Wait, you mocked it? It must have felt so bad," said Amar.

"I was just four. I didn't know it understood our language. I failed to notice that the rope with which it was tied, got loosened." Vennela paused.

"What happened next?" The story was very interesting to Amar.

"It chased me around the house. I was screaming. My dad was running behind it. But I fell into a pit. Before my dad could catch the dog, it jumped into the pit and bit my leg." Vennela concluded.

"It bit you?" Amar imagined a little Vennela with pink cheeks, pig tails and baby shoes screaming and running to save herself from the dog. Even in his mind the image looked so funny. He suddenly wished he was a part of her childhood.

"That's what grandma told me. I don't remember. I don't understand why it bit me. Why didn't it ask me politely if it wanted the cookies? I would have shared some gladly" said Vennela. Amar turned away laughing.

"It must have been a bad dog Vennela. Why didn't you tell this to me yesterday? You knew Bunty was not a child but a dog. But you still let me take him in. Why?" Amar asked her.

"I thought I could manage for two days. Our neighbour most certainly couldn't keep Bunty in their house because of his sister's allergy. Where would he go if we don't take him in? And you already made a promise. I have to honour your promise. Now that you know about my phobia, could you please take Bunty's bowl of food for him? He must be hungry. I can't go anywhere near him." Vennela requested Amar. "I'll repair your shirt" she added.

Amar looked at her with increased admiration. Though she was scared of Bunty she made sure that he had his food on time.

He returned after making sure that Bunty ate properly. "Amar sir, can I sleep in your room till Bunty leaves for his home? Because, you can stop him if he approaches me in the middle of the night" said Vennela.

Amar was surprised to hear this from her. "Sure. You don't have to ask. You can come here whenever you like." He wished Bunty would never leave. He glanced at the torn blue shirt she was trying to repair and congratulated himself.

That night Amar shifted his couch near the entrance of his room to shield Vennela from Bunty. He felt like a warrior who has been assigned the job of protecting his queen. She was lying on the bed, reading a book. Amar was looking at her without her knowledge. He liked how she creased her eyebrows as she got engrossed in the book.

She yawned. As yawning is contagious, Amar too yawned. She looked at him. He immediately looked at his phone, pretending to play a game. She switched off the lights and covered her face with the blanket to hide her smile.

---***---

"Thank you Amar. Bunty is like my own child. I'm so glad you let him stay here. Thank you Vennela garu for decorating his doghouse so beautifully." The neighbour who returned two days later to take Bunty home, thanked Vennela and Amar.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to make him feel special and happy. He is a good boy. He's lucky, he got a family like yours." Vennela was still scared of dogs. Yet, she decorated his doghouse in his absence.

Bunty tried to lick her toes again. She felt nauseous and trembled with fear. She clutched Amar's arm tightly. She was sweating again. He was scared that she might faint. 

He diverted Bunty's attention to himself by patting him. Bunty wagged his tail, licking Amar's fingers and left with his father.

'Bunty contributed very much to Mission IV' thought Amar, looking at Vennela who was still holding his arm.

---***---

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