Short Story - Parson's Pleasure and The Umbrella Man

It was an arid day. Mr Mokoko was embarking on his journey to his mother's new house at the countryside. On his way there, he lost his way. He got out of his car to scan the surroundings for a route out. As he walked around to look for a way out, he passed by a small little cottage with a small garden surrounding it, with a fence covering it.

His eyes immediately landed on an umbrella with holes on it. Although it was broken, he knew it was an antique. He had read about it recently. He knew if the owner knew it was antique, he/she wouldn't leave it outside of the house. His conscience suddenly pricked him. He was in a dilemma. He thought, " Should I cheat it from the owner?".

Well, that was an antique, by not having it, he was letting himself down. He went out to the cottage and called for the owner. Then, there appeared a frail little old man with a stick in his hands to balance himself. He strode up to Mr Mokoko and asked him what he wanted.

"The weather's hot, so I thought of buying that umbrella to block out the sun," Mr Mokoko said as he gestured to the umbrella.

"But it's broken!" the old man retorted

"Fret not, I'm just trying to block out some sun," Mr Mokoko replied gently.

" Well, five bucks for it!" the old man said in excitement.

"Deal!" Mr Mokoko agreed, without hesitation.

The old man thought Mr Mokoko was a fool to buy it for twice its original price, but he didn't care. Mr Mokoko then realised he didn't take his wallet with him. He went back to retrieve it. The old man was kind enough to help him glue a cheap cloth over the broken umbrella so that the holes were covered.

When Mr Mokoko came back, he was shocked. The umbrella will not sell as much as its original price. It would be 50 times lesser, or maybe 100 times. After this incident, Mr Mokoko never cheated again.

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