It was a hot afternoon in the month of June. Mrs. Madhu was alone in her house. She had her lunch and sat down to watch her favourite serial suddenly the doorbell rang. She got up lazily and opened the door thinking it might be her maid. But it was not her maid. Instead, a sadhu was standing outside. He was an old man with a grey beard. A bag was hanging on his shoulders. He asked for a glass of water as he was very thirsty. Mrs. Madhu didn't know what to do. Then she thought that an old sadhu could do no harm to her. So she went inside to bring a glass of water. When she came out, the sadhu was not there. She went out and looked here and there but he was nowhere to be seen. She was surprised but she went inside and bolted the door and sat in front of the TV again to watch the serial. But she didn't feel comfortable. Something was amiss. She couldn't make it out. She felt as if she was not alone. She looked around and to her horror; found the sadhu standing behind her. She was terrified. She wanted to scream but could not. The sadhu had a strange look in his eyes. He commanded her to hand over the keys. She didn't know what to do. The doorbell rang again. This was her chance to save herself. She pushed the sadhu ran out, opened the door and started shouting. She herself was wondering from where she had got the courage to hit a man. Soon the neighbours gathered and caught hold of the sadhu. Then they called the police and handed him over to them. Mrs. Madhu promised herself that she would never trust a stranger. It was a terrible afternoon which haunted her for many days afterwards.
