The Umbrella

I saw him jump in the canal one rainy morning from the second floor lounge of my office building. I was waiting to meet a senior leader who would coach me in the ways of corporate life. Instead of getting ready, prepping the powerful insights of a good first impression, I was lost in thought looking out the window.

At first I did not notice him. It was raining like all the mornings of the Copenhagen Autumn and the few people walking by were wearing raincoats or, like in his case, carrying umbrellas.

I think he first caught my attention, because he was walking a little faster than others entering my line of sight and, in my day dreaming, I decided that one day I wanted to walk somewhere with the same determination as he was walking to wherever he was going. He was wearing dark green trousers, a black coat and he was carrying a hiking backpack and a black umbrella.

I was just about to tell myself the story of who he was, when I noticed that he was walking in the direction of the water, not fast, but determined. I imagined he had military training for walking in straight lines. But then, my heart skipped a beat when he jumped right into the water. He jumped in the water still holding his umbrella.

Shock and panic invaded me for the next few seconds while I looked around for others in the lounge who might have witnessed what had happened. Nobody moved. I looked outside again looking for people running to the rescue or gathering around the jumping area. Nobody moved. My heart racing, I put my hands on the glass and looked desperately for him in the water. There was no movement, the canal was still. A black umbrella gently floating above water. Nobody moved.

Someone behind me called my name, perhaps a second time. When I turned, the leader was there holding his coffee and smiling calmly. I shook his hand, sat down and listened for thirty minutes about how amazing the company’s plans were. I nodded occasionally, I said a few smart things and then we parted ways. I was no longer lost in thought. I was determined to let my head float on the waters on the canal, just like the black umbrella.