Umbrella in the Woods

One day strolling down the waves of my thoughts, deep in the woods, I found a cabin abandoned, alone, stranded, on the urge of wrecking down to be the one with woods, but as I invaded the shallow silence of the cabin's door, defying the sheer darkness there stood an umbrella leaning to a chair beside, gazing me with a sense of accomplishment like he (umbrella) has found one last disciple to narrate his tale. 

It took me no time to perceive that he is not an ordinary one, the scars on his skin narrate the same. A story of success, failure, love and loss. It made me wonder as what shall an ancient one is doing in a cabin as old as he is. 

Maybe he sensed my anxiety or maybe it was his experience. In a gentle and soothing voice he broke the silence, "What's the purpose of your visit child ?". 

"Sire!, I was just wandering cooupied with my thoughts and accidentally stumbled upon this path of fallen leaves that lead me to this cabin of yours", I answered haltingly.

"There are no accidents", reply came with a smile so tranquil like a first ray of morning sunshine. Curious to his appearance, I asked him, his story, as what is he doing and how he reached here in this abandoned cabin. 

He first directed me to rest on the chair besides him, so I did. And then he spoke. "I shall pass on to you my story, but everything comes at a price. And for you the price shall be to spread my words, help them fly on the winds so they may reach my long lost owner, who put me on this journey to meet myself". 

And he continued...

The story starts from a very ordinary shop suited at an old street's corner in London. There resting on a side wall, everyday I'll wait for an owner to choose me over all my others fellow Umbrellas'. People will come and go, some will glance at me, some will pass right away me, some will examine me and some will reject me but I never lost the hope, everyday I'll hang there with the same zeal and faith for a justly owner. 

And on one fine day, the shop's door opened just for me, the winds carried the confirmation that my wish to see the world will finally be fulfilled, A small pretty girl entered the shop moving swiftly in excitement, her smile so pleasant that could relief a dying man. She with her overflowing charm and grin choose me as her companion for her travels. I was on the ninth cloud, as I now will got to see the world, will feel the sunshine's warmth, the chill of winter breeze and the touch of rain, I'll feel it all. And so we did.

As the days passed we became the best of companions, she never forgot to take me every-time she leaves the house and in my stand, I'll wait every morning for that smile to show up and accompany me in our quests to explore the world. 

I still remember the loving tap of my first rain, how the tiny rain droplets splashed their love with the sudden hugs, so strong that they would fragment down into millions of particles to rejoin together as water stream only to make place for others droplets to come. 

It was all mesmerizing, everything was just going tremendous, we experienced together exciting expeditions, leisure excursions, long walks. I never knew that I could be so special to that small child, after all those years of hanging alone on the wall, it was soothing to be something special for someone. 

But one dark day everything changed, while coming back from a journey we faced a storm, so black as a new moon night, the clouds so fierce as were on a war with the world, everything seemed so frightened, I was shaking in fear of the thunder, of it's wrath. Instantly the winds transformed to tempest and a sudden wind missile tried to separate me from my beloved owner, we tried to hold on to each other with full strength, but at the end the storm won and snatched me away from her, I could see her from the cage of storm but was tamed in wind with unbreakable lock of helplessness and was dragged violently in the storm only to be thrown at a destination unknown. 

Why would such a storm part us, why she didn't hold on tight, I had questions but no one to answer them, in that unfamiliar garden where that cruel tempest had tossed me like a paper. I had lost my hope, the night had left me with nothing except some holes in my skin and heart.

I didn't want to start my journey again. I couldn't just wait there for anyone to pick me up, I wanted my owner back, the smile back, our adventures back, and I couldn't let anyone else hold my handle again, I simply just couldn't.

I was so desperate that I molded my grip's metal to transform it into small thorns, so that nobody could hold me again and I then waited eagerly for my owner to come as I knew that one day she will come searching her lost companion of travel, her special friend, her own umbrella. Days passed and I stood straight at that very place, hoping that she will return. Most of the time I'll watch the children playing nearby me with the same innocent smile which I was addicted to but I never allowed anyone to hold me coz I was loyal, loyal only to my owner.

Sometimes, some kids will try to play with me, hold me but I would prick them with my thorns. I remember it vividly, once a small kid with impeccable eyes and flawless smile tried her best to hold my hand, even with the pain my thorns gave, She procured me with the same excitement as my owner had and emotionally I let her to take me with her. She didn't let go off me for days, may be she understood my sufferings, my yearnings for my owner. May be she had lost someone too. But I cannot even think of loosing my thorns for her kindness and smile, because she could  never replace my owner.

One day when she took me for a walk, I suddenly saw my owner, a sudden rush awakes in me to reach her, to greet her again, but there was someone else sharing her walk and I got speechless and heartbroken. Realising that she don't need me anymore, I lost all my hope and my purpose to go on so I prayed winds to snatch me again from this sweet child and blew me away to a place with no one's there to hurt me anymore, to which the wind listened. And since that very day, I had spent years in this cabin untouched by any hand. 

But as my time is near, my iron joints are developing rust and are weak. With this passing time, I learned something which If I had known earlier, may be my life would have been different. In the darkness of this cabin the silence of woods taught me the best lesson of my life that is, to let it go. 

Earlier after my separation I had developed these thorns because I was not ready to leave my owner, my past, I never allowed anyone to hold me further because I was too stubborn to give anyone a chance. I even hurt the child who tried to pull me out of my misery, my loneliness. At the end my thorns harmed none except me. May be if I had learned that earlier, I would had given the child a chance to share her stories, her adventures and might didn't end up here. 

But in my last phase, If I have to recollect, I don't remember the hurt and the pain I suffered, instead all I recall is the rejoice, the path I covered, the smiles I saw under my shadow, the shelter I spread from rain and sun. 

I wish, I would have done more of what I was made for. And stranger, If you could agree, these last days I want to spend with you, I may not be perfect, broken instead, I still have these holes in my skin. But I am determined enough to save you from the sun, the dust, the wind, the rain. I want to spend this time I have, living my life instead of blaming my past. 

I want to talk about, wander around to add one last page to my story.

It took me time to comprehed the story of this umbrella, it gave me chills and forced me to think, what if I am also someone's umbrella, have I developed any thorns, which are halting me to live my life to it's fullest because no matter what one wants we cannot change the past but we still have our present, our future which is yet to be decide. I don't wanna end up in a cabin like this. I don't wanna wait for my owner to come back, instead want to give a new smile a chance. So I gave that umbrella what i needed, a chance. A chance to continue his journey with me while learning more from his life stories and write fill life pages together till the time persists.