text: "Sorry I'm late, I got here as soon as my meeting was over." Sara said "Did you get a promotion you didn't tell me about? How in the hell did you afford this thing? Jessica pointed directly at my umbrella with its distinguishable glossy blackwood handle "Haha, no not at all...Alan...gave it to me." "Alan?!" she said. "The, I'm going to go out with him once and that's all, Alan? Surely this wasn't a gift he gave you after JUST one date" "Actually, we have been out 4 times, he saw the umbrella I had and thought I would be safer with this one" "Remember when I got us matching umbrellas, we are supposed to be besties" Jessica said. "We ARE besties, but using umbrellas that you got during a 2 for 1 sale probably isn't the best thing to use, especially with how windy it has been lately." You can look around the cafe and notice each table has a cubby for an umbrella. Although it doesn't particularly rain a lot in our city, everyone walks around outside with an umbrella. It isn't for protection from the sun either, it is to protect us from the above. There have been mysterious disappearances that started happening in our city a few months ago. The disappearances seemed random at first, but investigators noticed a trend in all the cases; they all happened when the victim was alone, in broad daylight, and in direct view of the sky. No one is going to travel in a group all the time, so using an umbrella has become a part of everyday life. "Anyway, you didn't invite me here to talk about umbrellas or about Alan, what's on your mind?" Sara said with a concerning look on her face. "The company I am with is throwing a celebration party tonight at 9 and everyone is expected to go...I...am too shy for this kind of thing." "Shy? You aren't shy around me, you are definitely the outgoing one between the two of us." "But that is only because we have known each other for so long, it is hard for me to open up and let loose around complete strangers." "But they aren't strangers, these are people you work with." "I don't see these people outside of work, I largely keep to myself unless we are working on a group project. I am trying to figure a way to get out of it." "You said yourself you want to try new experiences and you got one right in front of you, you are definitely going." "Oh my, look who is being the more outgoing and aggressive one now. You got that fancy umbrella and now you have this new bravado about you." "Hahaha, you might be right. Maybe that little bit of confidence came from this thing" Here, take it with you." "I can't take a gift someone gave you." "You aren't taking it, you are borrowing it. We will swap back the next time I see you." "Thank you for being, you, Sara." "Just show them the side of Jessica I get to see all the time." "You are so fucking adorable, no wonder Alan is falling for you." "Shut up!" Sara said as she tried to cover up the redness in her face. "Let's go ahead and order so we can catch up before you head to the party." We talk for what seems like hours... "Shit!" Sara said. "It is 8:50, how far away is your party?" "It's about 10 minutes away...damn it I got to run!" "Have fun." Sara said. As Jessica bolts towards the door she stops abruptly to turn around and give Sara a huge hug. "Tell me all about it tomorrow, ok" Sara said with an excited look on her face. "You bet, thanks again." Sara goes back to the table they were sitting at to realize they were the last customers in the cafe. Sara was still eating a pastry she ordered that has long since gone cold after being engrossed in deep conversation with Jessica. "Miss, I just wanted to let you know that we close at 9" one of the workers said that was wiping down the remaining tables. "I know" Sara said "I was just finishing my pastry." "You got an umbrella?" said the worker "We have spares we keep just in case" Sara holds up the umbrella she traded with Jessica "I have one" she said Sara finishes her pastry and places the dish on the counter close to the kitchen before making her way out the front door. With umbrella in hand she notices the lights to the cafe turn off to match the rest of the city. There is a lights off policy at 9pm to help protect the homeless and anyone else that might find themselves without an umbrella at this hour. Street light use has been suspended indefinitely as well once disappearances also start happening at night. Her apartment building is only a few blocks away so she won't be outside for very long. The streets are empty and the wind is starting to pick up. There are conspiracies that "the above" are causing the increase in wind since more people are shielding themselves with umbrellas. There was light rain outside when Jessica made her way out of the cafe so seeing the accompanying wind wasn't all that surprising. Sara has only made it a few steps from the cafe when a strong gust of wind makes her clutch her umbrella tightly with both hands... *Snap!* The metal stretcher on the underside of the umbrella had snapped and the canopy was dangling in wind. "Oh no." Sara said in a crackly voice. In a panic, she presses as tightly against the restaurant wall as possible in hopes that the slight overhang of the building will provide her protection from the sky. She breathes heavier and heavier with each passing moment, she has never been without an umbrella before, her hands begin to shake uncontrollably. She reaches in her purse to grab her phone, almost dropping it because of the slipperiness from the rain and the uncontrollable shakiness that has taken over her entire body. She crouches down with her phone tucked as close to her chest as possible to not have the light from the screen linger in the darkness. She calls Jessica, but there is no answer. The party is well underway so she probably isn't paying attention to her phone. With her best friend not available, she calls Alan. "Alan! I'm in trouble can-" "In trouble!? What do you mean in trouble?" "My umbrella broke...*sniff*...and all the places around me are closed...I don't know what to do...i'm panicking" Sara starts sobbing uncontrollably to Alan "It broke, but I just got you a new-" "I let Jessica... *sniff*... borrow it when I saw her earlier...i'm sorry" "You have nothing to be sorry for, just try to calm down Sara, what building were you two in?" *sniff* "the Little Coffee Bean" "That's on the corner of 27th St and 6th Avenue, I'm on the way, avoid any lights you may see you understand?" Sara's breathing is starting to slow back down and her shaking is more reserved "Yeah...I understand" "When I turn on the road you are on, I will turn my headlights off in the distance, that is how you'll know it's me" "Ok...ok...thank you Alan" "See you soon" *click* Sara put the phone back in her purse and clanged as flat to the wall as possible. She held her head down to shield her face from the rain and to distract herself from the sky. A few minutes have passed and the rain is really pouring in now, but that gust of wind that broke her umbrella ceased to be. She started to think about those conspiracies she read about, but her thoughts were distracted by a faint light. There is a car in the distance with their headlights on. "I can't tell if that is Alan." she said to herself. "He said he would turn his lights off once he was on the same road as me." The car drives closer towards her and her anxiety starts to resurface. Her body starts to shake again as the vehicle gets closer and closer. "This isn't Alan..." Her legs spring to life and she starts running down the opposite street to avoid the oncoming lights Her body is being propelled by fear as she continues to run as hard as she possibly can She looks back to see if that car turned down the same road she was on when a faint glow illuminates the left side of her face...she ran into the path of an oncoming car... In an instant, she was slung into the dark sky above. All she can see is a small light that gets dimmer and dimmer, until it eventually disappears... The vehicle turns off its headlights as it drives down 6th Avenue, slowly creeping down the street looking for any faint signs of moment. It eventually stops at a store that has long since closed. "I don't see her..." Alan says to himself "Let me call her back." *Ring*... *Ring*... *Ring*... *Ring*... Alan looking down at his phone from the safety of his vehicle in a confusing and concerning daze, wondering where she is. He leans back and takes a deep breath "Sara, where are you?" "Hi, this is Sara, sorry I am unable to take your call-" *click* Alan averts his eyes away from his phone to see a small glimmer of light in his rearview mirror that goes dim the moment it catches his eye. Alan is terrified... "No" "I am just imagining things" He calls Sara back, a second later, that same glimmer of light reawakens in the distance.