Department No. XII · Room 12 · Floor 1
Everything here belongs to somebody else.
Umbrellas, gloves, scarves, and keys, handed in and never missed. After three years unclaimed, they become permanent.
XIIRoom, by the door
214Umbrellas, standing
1Owner found, spring
Within this department
- The Unclaimed Register — twelve items, fully described.
- Claiming — how to claim, reunions, and failures.
- Item of the month — the black umbrella.
Item of the monthUnclaimed 3 yrs
Umbrella, black
Wooden crook handle. Left in the stand by the door.
It has outlasted three winters of other people’s rain and is now permanent. It may be borrowed in downpours and must be returned, as no one ever does.
The three-year rule
Anything unclaimed for three years becomes part of the Institute. The rule is strict and the umbrellas, now 214, are its standing proof. Nothing is thrown away; the department that throws things away is across the corridor and wants nothing to do with us.