The Story of an Umbrella #WriteAPageADay

Oh, finally, she has taken me out. I am sure it's raining outside because she is not someone who uses me on summer days. She says I make her sweat. How ungrateful! And what about the headaches she gets every afternoon after returning home? She will not get those attacks if she takes me with her. But no, she has to be stubborn and blame me instead! Whatever. I am glad she is finally dusting me to take me out. It has been a year since she has even touched me. That does not make me sad, though. Because I will get to go out after long. I am not as ungrateful as she is.

Wow, it's drizzling today, and she has taken me out. The drops of water falling on me make me cheerful again, and I am back to work after so long. The way she cleans me and packs me tightly inside a wrapper makes me suffocate. It is her way of showing her love to me. But I will embrace my freedom any day. Oh, did I mention she has come to a huge shopping mall? She has kept me inside a polybag so that droplets from my body don't wet the floor. She enters a huge departmental store and spends hours checking and trying out new clothes, only to buy a tiffin box for her daughter. She always does that. She stands with me at the cash counter and reaches out for her purse from her handbag while placing me and the polybag on the floor. Here, she pays at the counter, takes her parcel and walks away. "Hello, hey I am here, take me with you." No, she just walks out, and I am lying here inside the polybag, half-drenched. 

It's nighttime now. The store is going to get closed. They are switching off the lights. Since morning, so many people have kicked the polybag, and I was kicked out of that. Now I lay on the floor, and someone picks me. It's one of the men from the store. He asks someone about me, who very confidently answers "Lady's ka hai." The man who found me looked happy, folded me nicely, and found a nice gift paper to wrap me inside. What is he planning to do!!

I can feel the man carrying me out of the store and getting inside an auto. He gets down after some time and stands somewhere. After a while, he greets someone, "Hi darling, why so late! Waiting for such a long time, na!" 

I hear a woman's voice, "Sorry, baby. I was not getting any auto." I start enjoying their conversation, " Darling, look what I have got for you." 

He hands the wrapped me to the woman, " OMG, baby, you are chhooo sweet." She opens the wrapper and looks gleeful, finding me. " A silk umbrella! It is so pretty. " She exclaims. 

"Yes darling, I had ordered specially for you from one of my friends. It's pure silk with hand-painted flowers all over. " 

The woman started examining me, folding, unfolding, turning back and forth. " But baby, where is the cover? It might have had a cover, no?" 

"Arrey, no," the man fumbles a bit, "Nowadays, they come without covers. That's the latest." 

"Dont lie baby, my sister's boyfriend gifted a silk umbrella with a cover the other day. Don't fool me."

 "Who can fool you, darling? I shapath, this is brand new." 

"You again picked someone else's thing and gifted me, just like the last time, huh? You gave me a second-hand dress." She throws me and walks away. How rude!! The man tries to stop her but she gets inside an auto. Disappointed, the man comes and picks me up, hits me on the road a couple of times and throws me. I am left at the corner of the road. Today I realize how loving and caring my real owner had been to me. Cleaning me, dusting me, and carefully folding and wrapping me every time. I wish I could go back to her. 

I don't know how long I have been lying here till someone picks me up. It is a little boy, a street vendor I think. He opens me in the light drizzle. It is somewhat consoling to be with someone again. The boy starts selling strawberry boxes to the moving vehicles on the road. He manages to sell a few of those. I am covering him from the drizzle, but I am worried now. What will happen when it starts to rain heavily. I can manage the drizzles and light rains but cannot withstand the heavier stormy ones. I am too delicate for that. And just as I thought, it immediately started to rain heavily. I am trying my best to bear the wind and heavy raindrops with all my strength. The small boy finds it difficult to hold me for long. He stands under a bus stop with me folded in his hand. I see a man standing beside him; I know him. He is my owner's husband. 

He looks at me for a while and comes towards the boy, " Is it your umbrella?" 

"Yes, sir, but it cannot protect me from this heavy rain." 

"I will give you my umbrella; it will be of your work; you give me this one; I will also take 2 boxes of strawberries from you." 

The boy looks happy, "Sure, sir." 

Once the heavy rain stops, he takes me back. 

The moment he enters his house, she comes running, "Where did you find it? It was not there at the store." 

He laughs heartily, "From the moon. Now keep it safe and never lose it again."

She takes me. I was overjoyed to be back with her, under her care, in my home.

P.S. I really had a beautiful silk floral printed umbrella which I had lost long back. My husband was not there in my life back then, so no one returned it to me from the moon.

This post is a part of #WriteAPageADay from Blogchatter