Buthulu Stories | Telugu

"Amma, why are you alone so late?" he asked.

Remembering his grandmother's words, he bit his thumb and drew a line of blood on his forehead. Then he walked backward, reciting the name of Venkateswara, until he reached his doorstep. Behind him, he heard the jingle of anklets—stopping exactly at the threshold, where a butham cannot enter.

She turned—but not her body. Her face looked at him from over her shoulder. She smiled, revealing no teeth, only darkness.

"My anklet fell," she whispered. "Pick it up for me."