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eBook Category: Fantasy
eBook Description: When she loses her unique umbrella, Bonnie Schettler is more upset that she cares to admit. The umbrella is small in the grand scheme of things, but it makes her happy. Her quest to recover it will lead her to Paraguas, the City of Wondrous Umbrellas, a place where the small things in life are given the honor they deserve... A delightfully upbeat fantasy that's a surefire antidote for the daily urban grind.

eBook Publisher: Rosetta Solutions, Inc., Published: 1997
Fictionwise Release Date: October 2001

53 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: eReader (PDB) [42 KB] , ePub (EPUB) [71 KB] , Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [17 KB] , Portable Document Format (PDF) [88 KB] , Palm Doc (PDB) [17 KB] , Microsoft Reader (LIT) [72 KB] , Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [89 KB] , hiebook (KML) [72 KB] , Sony Reader (LRF) [82 KB] , iSilo (PDB) [14 KB] , Mobipocket (PRC) [18 KB] , Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [65 KB] , OEBFF Format (IMP) [27 KB]
Words: 5045
Reading time: 14-20 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Portable Document Format (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

San Francisco is a different city in the rain. The citizens, hidden in raincoats and shielded by umbrellas, scurry blindly through the streets and spend their days hiding indoors. Laughing aloud or speaking in raised voices seems as inappropriate during the rainy season as during a church service. People lurk inside, their eyes unfocused, as if the rain could blur their vision even indoors.

Bonnie Schettler was one of the few who enjoyed the rain. From her vantage point on the bus, she could wipe the steam from the window, press her head against the cool, damp glass, and look out at the transformed city. Streets and buildings glinted with the water's sheen. Headlights and neon reflected everywhere, spotting the darkness like jewels in Ali Baba's cave. Some windows became dark scrying mirrors, and others squares of light diffusing into the foggy air. The skyline might have continued for vertical miles. Swirling in the rivers and eddies of foot traffic, the morning commuters' umbrellas bobbed like bright corks. San Francisco was a city of artists and art lovers, and no time, to Bonnie's mind, evinced this as well as the rainy months. True, there were business-people with black umbrellas, but her eye picked out colorful ones as well--red, teal, clear with cats and dogs.

Without thinking, Bonnie caressed her own dripping watershed. Her raincoat was navy blue, like most of her corporate wardrobe, but her umbrella was something altogether different. It was brilliant scarlet, shaped and detailed to look like a poppy. She didn't care what anyone else thought of it; it was the only thing she carried with her that lifted her spirits.

As soon as she got off the bus, Bonnie found herself wishing she'd worn galoshes. The rain blew nearly horizontally, drenching her from foot to knee. She tilted her poppy in front of her to block the pinpricks of water from her face.