Horror Short Story | The Umbrella

It started pouring rain as 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 a bit rusty, but still usable. He looked around, 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 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 back upstairs to put it away properly. That evening when he returned home, the umbrella was hanging on the doorknob. He froze. He was certain this umbrella had been on the balcony. He picked it up to inspect it and found a line of text on the inside of the canopy, as if written 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 didn't dare throw it away again and hid the umbrella in the deepest part of a cabinet. But from that day on, every time he went out, the 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 left the office 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 rusty ribs. He opened it and found more text inside: "Today, you take me home." Shen Jing opened the umbrella and walked into the rain. Midway, he realized the umbrella was dripping water, but his head remained dry.