The Umbrella

Date: 05/08/2026
All Rights Reserved by the Author
Heavy rain had begun just as people hurried home.
An elderly man noticed a young student standing under a shop awning without an umbrella.
Without a word, he handed over his own umbrella and quietly walked into the rain.
The student called after him.
“But what about you?”
The old man smiled.
“I’ve walked through many storms.”
Years later, the student often remembered that evening—not because of the umbrella, but because a stranger had chosen kindness over comfort.
The simplest acts are sometimes the ones that remain with us the longest.
True generosity asks for neither recognition nor reward.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India