Trần and His Umbrella

[caption id="attachment_229499" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="http://nickkoutoulas.deviantart.com/art/umbrella-man-151564776"][/caption] Trần is a Vietnamese who is cheerful and sharp. One day, on a gloomy morning, Trần and his friends, Dave and Mori, were walking down the street to a friend’s house. It was an Easter holiday that time, so the bus would come every 30 minutes, following the Sunday’s schedule. Trần checked the schedule. Unfortunately, he found that the bus wouldn’t come anytime soon. So, they decided to take a walk. Their friend’s house is about 20-minute walk and they decided to take the shortcut. It was cloudy that day, so it was not a very hot. These three men then slowly walked the path beside the main road. “Have you heard the news that one Indonesian apprentice teacher was drowned in Kupang?” asked Dave, an Indonesian friend, to Trần. Dave asked because he knows that Trần works on a research on Indonesian teacher area at the moment. “Oh, I haven’t heard of that. It must be pitiful,” Trần replied, deeply concerned. “Yes, indeed” said Dave. He then continued, “I heard that the teacher is doing an apprenticeship program in Kupang. He is studying in Ganesha University, Singaraja, Bali.” “His family must be very worried,” Mori, a Burmese friend of Trần and Dave, joined the conversation. “Yes, it has been three days now after the incident and the police still couldn’t find him,” Dave added. “I am really sorry to hear this,” Trần looked sad. While they were walking, the clouds gathered and skies became darker. A minute later, rain suddenly poured down and it’s getting heavy. These three men were in the middle, half way to go back or go forward; there were no buildings nearby. “Run, run!” Mori shouted. Dave and Mori were about to run when Trần took an umbrella that he brought in his bag. It was black, rather small, but fully functional. “You two can use this umbrella, too. It’s a bit small for three people, though” said Trần. “We can go slowly,” he added. “No, Trần. I’ll just run to that big tree. It’s not very far,” Mori replied, shouted a bit, as he and Dave started to run quickly to reach a big tree across the road to get a shelter from the heavy shower. Trần let them running to the tree across the road while he was walking slowly using his umbrella. When he reached Dave and Mori, he found them squeezing their bodies behind trunks of trees, trying to get most comforts. He then quickly joined them. The rain was getting heavier and their bags became wet. While waiting, Trần saw the surroundings. He found that, around 300 metres in front of them, there was a building across a small moat. “It’s getting heavier, do you think we can run to that building in front of us?” asked Mori, desperately looking at the rain. “We need a better shelter,” Mori added. “Yes, I think so,” Dave agreed. “Okay, you guys go ahead! I can walk slowly,” Trần replied. Dave and Mori, while wearing their hooded jacket, covered their heads with bags and ran hurriedly trying to get to David Myers building as soon as possible. Trần joined them, walking more slowly with his umbrella wide open to protect him from the rain. They then reached the building and sat on the bench on the glass cubicle while waiting for the rain to end. “Do you always bring an umbrella with you?” Dave asked. “Yes, especially during this season. I also prepare a light jacket with me. It could get very wet and cold,” Trần said to Dave and Mori. It was still dark and gloomy. The rain seemed endless. They preferred waiting for the bus to come to get to their friend’s house. “You know, a small umbrella like this surely cannot stop the rain. However, it will help going through it,” Trần added and smiled.