Horror Short Story | The Umbrella

It started pouring rain as Shen Jing was leaving work. He took shelter under the eaves of a building and found a black umbrella leaning against the wall. The umbrella was old, its ribs a bit rusty, but still usable. He looked around, saw no one, and took it to go home. He hung the umbrella on the balcony when he got home, not thinking much of it. The next day when he went out, the rain had stopped. As he went downstairs, he found an extra umbrella in his hand—the black one from last night. He was sure he'd 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. When he got home that evening, the umbrella was hanging on the doorknob. He froze. He was certain he'd left this umbrella on the balcony. He picked it up to check and found a line of text newly written on the inside of the umbrella canopy, as if written with a white pen: "Take me out." Shen Jing felt creeped out. 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 picked it up and placed it there. He opened the umbrella, and the text on the 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 overtime until very late. As he walked out of the company building, he realized it was raining. He hadn't brought an umbrella and was about to call a taxi when an umbrella suddenly appeared in his hand. It was black, with rusty ribs. He opened it and found new text inside: "Today, you 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.