The Woman with the Red Umbrella

The Day I Saw Her

It was 3 o'clock in the evening and my father, mother, 19 year old sister, and I were all getting ready to leave our humble abode to go somewhere to dine at. We all settled down in the car. I loved the rain and knew it was raining steadily outside just like it was the day before. I began to press the button on my door that is supposed to roll down the window. I remembered that my dad had locked it so I wasn't able to roll the window down, however I found great enjoyment in pushing it as it annoyed my elder sister. My mum finally told me to quit and so I did. My father had been browsing his phone but once he finished he set it beside him and backed out of the garage slowly. We weren't backing out very fast so it gave me sometime to look around at the beautiful rainy scenery. The sky was a light grey, the rain falling around us at a neutral speed that wasn't to hard but wasn't to light, the gentle tap of the raindrops as they hit the car, the soaked trees in the distance that led out of our secluded subdivision were dancing in the light breeze, and the woman walking from the trees with her red umbrella. She caught my eye as she was the only other person out besides us but she wasn't in a vehicle, no she was walking in the cold rain by herself with her bright red umbrella. She got me wondering, "Why is she walking in the rain? There isn't anything nearby for her to have walked to and I don't know of anyone who would just take a stroll in the cold rain." She had my curiosity going. My dad drove out of the subdivision and out into the small highway. We were headed to a brewery in Downtown London. I'm not overly comfortable in breweries because of my age but I deal with it and sit quietly, usually by a window in a secluded corner. We get to the location of the brewery and my da drove around the block looking for a spot to park because the brewery did not have their own parking spaces. My da found a spot and paralleled parked in between two cars. The rain seemed to have quickened and it felt cooler outside than before, I didn't mind however because it felt dreary which raised my spirits as I felt a little depressed that day. I walked slowly on the sidewalk with my hood up and my hands stuffed in my pockets of my black and grey jacket. I was ahead of my family who were laughing behind me, probably having a great time. The rain seemed to give the neighborhood an eerie feel to it because the buildings were old and seemed to be "lonely". I arrived at a break in the sidewalk that lead to the back of the brewery where a mexican food truck was set up and if I had heard the conversation my parents had in our small car then I would have known, the food truck is mostly why we were there. I turned around to wait on my family. They caught up with me and I walked behind them up to the food truck. No one was in there at the time so we went back on the sidewalk and continued forward then took a left to arrive at the front entrance of the small, local, brewery. We entered and my parents got a tray of sampler beers. They discussed the taste of their liquor. My parents then came up with an idea so we could go back to the food truck and get some food but still keep our spots as the brewery was rather busy and we didn't want to lose our seats. The idea was that my mum and I would go first to get food and then come back, afterwards my da and sister would get food. So we did just that and we all enjoyed our meal. After at least ten minutes waiting on my mum to finish her beer we finally left the uncomfortable and crowded building. We all walked together, with me in slightly higher spirits than before. My parents stopped to talk for a moment and we had stopped in front of this old, two-story, red house that had a wire fence that was about to fall over and an overgrown lawn. There were only two lights on in the house as well indicating someone's presence in the old house. It was quite captivating but my concentration was broken when my parents finished their chat and continued to the car. I followed behind them, walking beside my sister. We loaded into the car and sat there while my parents chatted again, but I then saw her. She was there, in her grey sweatpants, black hoodie, and holding her bright red umbrella, right across the street from us on the other sidewalk and just standing there. I was amazed that she was there as it was at least a 45 minute drive there and it was obvious that she didn't have a vehicle. You may be wondering how I knew it was her and not just some other female with a red umbrella, I'll tell you. She's unmistakable, with her light brunette hair in a messy ponytail, her baggy attire, her silhouette, her vibe. It was most definitely her. I couldn't stop looking at her and then I became frightened and I'll say why. In my trance I saw her head slowly turn into my direction. Even though I couldn't see her eyes to be sure, I knew that she was looking right at me across the street and through the rain and car window, into my eyes. I felt a shiver run down my spine as her head turned back around to where she was looking straight ahead and she just walked off. The car started up and we began to drive out of the eerie neighborhood. I looked through the back glass of the car once to see her and she wasn't there, she had just vanished.