Umbrella

It was a sunny morning in Chennai. ('like a million others' I hear the voices in my head say disgruntled.) The 'sunny' in the above sentence definitely doesn't strike the same note as the "sunny beaches of Florida" you read about in guidebooks and adverts. This 'sunny' scorches. It makes you sweat copiously. It saps your energy. It spoils your mood. But I digress.

As I was saying, the sun was making itself felt ferociously. I got down from my bus and started the walk to my office buildings. I was not in a sunny disposition (pun intended!). The prospect of a walk in that sun daunted me. Nonetheless, I hiked on.

It was after I had taken maybe about 20 steps that I realised something wasn't just right. There was a bunch of guys walking maybe 20 feet ahead of me. They were under the sun. They had clearly defined shadows moving along them. Whereas me, I had no shadow to speak of. I didn't feel the sun either. I looked up and saw that a little cloud was shading me from the sun. I whispered a silent thanks and hurried on.

Now that's when I realised something very interesting. As we walked on, I was always under the shady part and those guys were always under the sun. I looked up and saw that the cloud was actually moving along the same direction as I. And at the same pace too.

Of course, such a natual phenomenon might occur to anyone. But me, I refused to take it that way! I felt absolutely special. I felt like The Alchemist's Santiago. I felt that all the Universe had conspired to protect me from the scorching rays!

Well, who else had their very own heavenly umbrella?!?!