A long time ago in the town of Lydenbourgh, lived a man named Ernest Forkhike. Ernest lived alone. Kept to himself. A true introvert. But all that changed when it rained. Everyone knew Ernest loved the rain because he could spotted prancing about Cross St with his signature black umbrella. “That weirdo with the black umbrella, what a loser.” His neighbors would say. Ms. Rogers a single mom, who would let you know she was single said “I wouldn’t let that freak near my babies.” Ernest didn’t much care what people thought. He just loved the rain.

One particular stormy afternoon, Ernest spun around a telephone in delight. Water droplets cascaded down his smile. He loved recreating scenes from his favorite movie “Singing in the Rain”. It was his mother’s favorite too. That was before she died suddenly leaving Ernest all alone, but dancing in the rain helped.

As Ernest began to sing, a car screeched around that corner at an extreme speed. The tires burned as the rubber met the road. Ernest didn’t have a chance to even jump as the car careened toward the sidewalk.

Ernest laid on the ground bleeding from his head. The rain washing his blood down the into sewer drain.

No one was ever charged in the hit run.

In the years that followed some peculiar things began to happen on Cross St. Particularly a large rise in single car accidents.

Cross St was a 25 mph zone lovated in a neighborhood with two stop signs on either end. Not a difficult street to maneuver.

The drivers would say they saw something in the road. Like an umbrella, or a large stick. Betsy Mullins sweared on her life that she wrapped her Honda around a telephone pole because a man suddenly appeared on the street.

“The roads were slippery. I had my lights on, but the rain was really coming down. Out of nowhere he came. A man. All I could see were his eyes, blue like crystals.” She spoke to the officier taking the statement at the scene.

“Anything else ya remember ma’am” the officer huffed. “ Yea he was holding a big black umbrella. And when I got out of my car he was gone”

The End