The Girl with the Red Umbrella

  Sweaty and with disheveled hair, he tore down the street the moment he noticed her on the other side of the road. In her hands, she carried a carefully folded red umbrella. Her heels distinctly struck off every step.
“I’ve never seen her in our neighborhood before,” he thought. “She must be visiting.”
  But in a few days, he saw her again from the window of the bus. Of course, he should have gotten off, but the bus was overcrowded, so he settled comfortably by the window. And then she was in the bus window, while he chased after it, waving his arms, trying to attract her attention. But she was looking somewhere in the opposite direction.
  Misfortunes followed one after the other: either some demonstration separated them, or some acquaintance appeared out of nowhere and stuck around. At times, when he would notice a curly blonde head, he shouldered his way through the crowd only to make certain of his mistake. And at the same time, he must always be ready for the encounter. He began to look after himself, he was always well-dressed, groomed, and bathed. He began to read a lot…
  He decided to put forward an announcement that he wanted to meet the blonde with a red umbrella that passed by this place and that place at this time and that time. A lot of blondes with red umbrellas showed up. All but her…
Hopeless, he began to write poems, and then stories.
He decided to take a photograph, but nothing worked: either someone would push his arm or eclipse her, or she herself would turn away. Their encounters became rarer and rarer. And she never even looked at him!
  His stories were printed, the first novel was published, then the second…
Eventually, he got married and had a son.
  His son’s upbringing, books, and teaching – he became a professor – took a lot of his time and strength. It seemed as though he should have been happy, but he desperately wanted her to look at him at least once, and tell him something…
  One day, his son, sweaty and with disheveled hair, barged into his father’s study, yelling: “Father, I just saw such a marvelous girl with a red umbrella, but I don’t know how to meet them! Teach me!”
  “Oh yes,” he exclaimed. “This is something I’m experienced at!”
  And they laughed. The professor was happy.
  Absolutely happy!