The Umbrella
A Short Story by Vasu Gangapalli

Frank Willis was walking in the Edward Street wearing a raincoat, and a hat on his head and holding an umbrella, as it was pouring down heavily. Suddenly, someone’s hand touched his hand; he turned to find a beautiful young woman walking besides him, under his umbrella. She had a beautiful smile on her face.

“Hi! I forgot to bring my umbrella. I hope you don’t mind.” She said.

“No problem.” Frank said, looking at her hand and he didn’t find the wedding ring on her finger.

“Can you hold the umbrella for a while? ” Frank asked.

“Sure.” She said, taking it and holding it. “I didn’t see the yesterday evenings forecast after the news.”

“Me too.” He said.

“What happen to your voice? Did you catch cold? ” She asked turning and looking at him.

“No. That’s my voice! ” He said.

“Is that some kind of trick?” She asked shocked to see a little boy next to her instead of Frank.

“What trick?” He asked looking up at her face.

“How did you grow so small all of a sudden?” She asked.

“Small? What do you mean? I am small!” He said.

“Come on, grow BIG!” She said, holding his hand.” And I want to see that!”

“Are you crazy or what?” He cried, freeing his hand and running away in the rain.

Actually, Frank had bent down to tie the lace of his shoe. Frank got up and started walking with her again. Franks heart told him that he had fallen in love with her and to propose to her.

Suddenly he picked up his courage and said: “I Love You.”

“I would’ve accepted your proposal if you had come to me some fifty years back, young man.” She said. He turned and found an old lady standing next to him.

“Where did she go?” Frank asked.

“Who?” She asked.

“The young lady who was walking with me holding my umbrella?” Frank asked.

“How would I know that? Infact you came under my umbrella.” She said.

“Your umbrella?” Frank asked, looking at the umbrella.

“Yes, my umbrella, bye.” She said, walking away.

He stood in rain thinking what had happened whether it was real or just a figment of his imagination. If it was his imagination then it meant that he didn’t bring his umbrella along with him. So he rushed to his flat as fast as he could. He unlocked the door and went inside, started searching for his umbrella. He didn’t find it.

“Great!” Frank said, with a smile on his face.

He went to the police station and made a complaint: –

“What did you say you’d lost?” asked the cop.

“My umbrella!” Frank said.

“And you expect me to send my men in this rain to search for it, is it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think I am crazy or what?” He yelled at him.

“Actually I want your men to find the woman who went with my umbrella.” Frank said.

“And may I know why?” He asked.

“Coz, I’ve fallen deeply in love with her.” Frank replied.

“Take my advice. Forget her and get yourself another umbrella. A man in love is incomplete until he is married. Then he’s finished.”

Suddenly, his wife opened her eyes and glanced at him.

“What are you doing?” She asked, yawning.

“I’m writing a story.” He replied.

“A story at this time? What’s the title of the story?” She asked, yawning again.

“The Umbrella!” He said.

“The Umbrella? Does it talk or fall in love?” She asked, with a smile on her face.

“No. The person holding it does! I don’t know how to end it?” He said.

“Let it have a happy….” She said and went to sleep without completing the sentence.

“…ending.” He said, looking at her, stroke her hair gently and glanced at the paper on his writing pad.

“Happy endings; That’s what we all long for in our lives too.” He said, resuming writing.

Frank started looking for her under the umbrellas. It wasn’t an easy task. Because his umbrella was like any other umbrella in London. But his umbrella had the letter ‘F’ in red colour against the black backdrop inside and on the top.
So he was confident in finding her sooner or later before the rainy season could end.

One day in public place someone held his hand from behind. Frank turned to find who it was. Frank was pleasantly surprised to see her smiling face again. She was with a little girl of eight or nine years. Is she married? He didn’t find her wedding ring on her finger now too. Perhaps she had forgotten to put it on her finger or she would have been divorced or she doesn’t like wearing it, he thought.

“I was looking for you for quite sometime. That day you’d asked me to hold your umbrella and then you vanished. I thought you were walking along with me and I just kept talking to you. Then I turned and saw a little boy next to me. I thought you were doing some magic to impress me.” She said.

Frank and the little girl broke into laughter.

“You know, I just bumped into an old man dressed just like you and who looked like you from behind.” She added.

The little girl giggled remembering it.

“Here is your umbrella.” She said, handing it to him.

“Only umbrella?” Frank asked.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot to thank you. Thanks a lot.” She said.

“What about my heart?” Frank asked.

“Beg your pardon. Your heart?” She asked, surprised.

“Yes, I had lost my heart to you that night.” Frank said.

“Do you want me to return it back to you?” She asked him.

The little girl giggled again.

“No. You can keep it safely with you and make sure that you don’t lose it.” Frank said.

“You needn’t worry about that.” She said smiling at him.”By the way, I am Juliana Andrews and she is..” She extended her right hand to him.

“Your little daughter ?” Frank interrupted her, shaking her hand.

The little girl giggled once again, holding her mouth with her little fingers.

“No, my little niece, Anna Thomson.” She said.

“Nice to meet you too. Would you like to join me for dinner at my place at 8 tonight ?” He asked, giving her his card.”…and bring little Anna along with you.”

“Sure.” She said, taking it.

Later:-

“Mr.Frank, are you an idiot?” asked little Anna.

“Why, my dear ? What made you to ask this question?” Frank asked, bending forward.

“Coz. You’ve so many books : Idiot’s guide to Windows, Idiot’s guide to Powerpoint, Idiot’s guide to Lotus 1-2-3 release..” She said.

Frank and Juliana broke into laughter hearing this. Anna joined them.

Next day morning: –

“So what happened to the story ‘Umbrella’?” She asked, handing him a cup of coffee.

“Oh, they both met again and he proposed to her…” He said.

“And she accepted his proposal, right?” She asked, smiling at him.

“Yes.” He said, smiling back at her.

“So what happened to that umbrella?” She asked.

“It’s still with me.” He said, showing it to her.” I’m really grateful for it because of it that I got you that day.”

The End.

Notes: – The one liner about marriage and the idiot’s joke had been taken from Reader’s Digest Magazine.