Nisha opens her eyes when the car jerks suddenly. She thinks she had been asleep and dreaming about an incident that hadn’t happened. But reality soon sinks in and she feels her throat constrict. The screeching sound of the brakes seems sinister to her. And when she sees what is in front of the car, she freezes. She looks at Rishi in horror.
Rishi shrugs. ‘The cat just jumped in front of the car from nowhere!’
‘You realize what this means?’
‘Nothing,’ Rishi replies. ‘It means nothing. Don’t make a big deal out of this.’
‘It’s a bad omen.’
Nisha glances at the black cat that has now wandered towards her side. The cat gazes back at Nisha. She doesn’t like the cat’s deep yellow eyes. Its stare is intimidating. Nisha swears there is malice in the eyes. Bile rises in her throat.
Finally, she has to drop her gaze as the cat doesn’t concede.
Rishi puts the engine in first gear and drives away.
‘Something bad is going to happen,’ Nisha whispers. ‘I feel it. Something bad is going to happen on this trip.’
