A Chair Left on the Rooftop

Photo: Unsplash.

The chair appeared on the rooftop after a windy night.

It was white plastic, slightly uneven, and marked underneath with the number 12. Nobody in Apartment 12 claimed it. The building manager left a notice asking the owner to remove it. The notice disappeared before the chair did.

At first, people used it while hanging laundry. Then someone moved it toward the western wall, where the sunset was visible between two office towers. A cushion arrived. Later, a second handwritten notice appeared:

Please return chair to sunset position after use.

The rooftop became unexpectedly busy around six. The university student from 3A studied there. A delivery driver ate noodles there between shifts. I once found the building manager sitting in it, reading the original removal notice.

One evening, the chair vanished. The empty patch of concrete looked larger than it should have. People checked the stairwell and asked in the residents’ group. Apartment 12 denied responsibility again.

Two days later, the chair returned freshly washed, with one cracked leg repaired by a metal bracket. Nobody admitted doing it.

It has now survived three typhoons and one rooftop renovation. The cushion changes occasionally. The sunset position has been marked on the concrete with a small rectangle of yellow paint.

Our building still has no shared garden, lounge, or community room. Apparently it only needed one chair and a view nobody owned.