The yellow umbrella: mystery chat template
A ready WhatsApp-look chat for the tiny mysteries gallery, eight messages and about 26 seconds as a video. Open it, change the words and export it as a labelled, fictional mock-up.
Preview in the WhatsApp look
A yellow umbrella has been outside my door three days.
It is not yours?
I own a black one.
Did it rain?
It did not.
Then why is it open?
It is shading a small pot of basil.
Someone is looking after your basil.
The full script (8 messages)
The first four messages open on the Free plan; the rest need a paid plan.
The template: The yellow umbrella
Load The yellow umbrella and you get eight messages. Ron opens with "A yellow umbrella has been outside my door three days.", Sia closes with "Someone is looking after your basil.", and the read-through runs roughly 26 seconds.
Message 1 is the longest at 10 words ("A yellow umbrella has been outside my door three days.") and message 4 is the shortest ("Did it rain?"). Three lines ask a question, so the other person keeps answering.
Using it in the WhatsApp look
Reveal the answer in the second-to-last message and use the last for the reaction. No upgrade is needed to try WhatsApp. Extras in this look: typing dots, read marks, reactions and an online status. Play fair: never hide the key fact from the viewer. The wallpaper behind the bubbles is a faint pattern, so it never fights with the text when the screen is compressed for a short video.
What the Free plan shows
On a Free account you see four messages of The yellow umbrella, ending at "Did it rain?". To get to "Someone is looking after your basil.", four messages later, upgrade to a paid plan.
Tips
- Pause on Ron's "It did not." before moving to the next bubble.
- Let the opening "A yellow umbrella has been outside my door three days." breathe so a late scroller still knows who is talking.
- State the question in the first line and give one clue per message.
- Make the ending your own by editing "Someone is looking after your basil."; add "fictional chat" to the caption.
- Try two new names in place of Ron and Sia, then read the story out loud once.
Questions
Can I use The yellow umbrella on the Free plan?
Yes for the look, with limits. The WhatsApp look is on the Free plan, and the editor loads the first four of the eight messages and two people. The rest needs a paid plan. Exports on Free carry a visible ChatsRat watermark.
How long is The yellow umbrella as a video?
About 26 seconds at a comfortable reading pace, counting eight messages with a short beat between them. Add a second or two for the ending card.
Is this mystery chat a real conversation?
No. It is an invented chat between Ron and Sia, made as a mock-up. ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app, and look names describe a style only. Label what you publish as fiction.
Can I change the names and lines?
Yes. Open the template in the editor, replace any line or name and export your own version. Keep the characters invented, and keep the content free of real people and anything sexual.
This is fiction. The people in this template are invented. ChatsRat makes mock-ups and fictional conversations for creators, designers and teachers. Do not use it to pass off a made-up conversation as a real one, to impersonate a real person, or as proof of anything. See the Acceptable Use policy.
About the watermark. Exports on the Free plan carry a visible ChatsRat watermark, and every export carries an invisible mark that the verify page can read. Plans list what changes on paid plans.
ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app. App names on this page describe a style only.