Horror Short Story | The Umbrella

It started pouring rain when Shen Jing was leaving work. He took shelter under the eaves and found a black umbrella leaning against the wall. The umbrella was old, its ribs slightly rusted, but still usable. He looked left and right, saw no one, and took it to go home. Upon arriving home, he hung the umbrella on the balcony, not thinking much of it. The next day when he went out, the rain had stopped. As he went downstairs, he found another umbrella in his hand—the black one from last night. He had definitely left it on the balcony, so when did he pick it up? He thought he must have misremembered and took the umbrella upstairs to put it away. That evening when he returned home, the umbrella was hanging on the doorknob. He froze. He was sure he had left this umbrella on the balcony. He picked it up to inspect it and found a line of text newly written on the inside surface with a white pen: "Take me out." Shen Jing felt a chill. He stuffed the umbrella into a trash bag and threw it into the large dumpster downstairs. The next morning when he went out, the umbrella was leaning against his front door, neatly folded, as if someone had found it and placed it there. He opened the umbrella, and the text inside had changed: "You throw me away once, and I'll follow you for a day." Shen Jing no longer dared to throw it away and hid the umbrella in the deepest part of a cabinet. But from that day on, every time he went out, that umbrella would appear in his bag. He'd take it out and leave it at home, and the next time he went out, it would be back in his bag. One day, he was working late and stepped outside his company to find it raining. He hadn't brought an umbrella and was about to call a taxi when suddenly an umbrella appeared in his hand. It was black, with rusted ribs. He opened it and found new text inside: "Today, it's your turn to take me home." Shen Jing opened the umbrella and walked into the rain. Midway, he noticed water dripping from the umbrella, but his head remained dry.