encounters

Blubbs.. I have just finished reading The Five People You Meet In Heaven (was so sian at the library the other day that I went to dig the shelves for story books and I saw alot of good books, don't know whether I have time to read them all though) Anyways, the story is average but it does throw out an interesting fact, that people are somehow interconnected to each other, what each person does may affect another person's life, and that person may be someone close and even a total stranger.

I used to think, while taking the mrt or the public bus, that people in the same train or same bus are connected to each other in some way, or maybe the whole world is connected. The woman sitting next to you may be your mother's friend's daughter-in-law, the boy sitting next to you may be your friend's friend's brother's son etc. etc. It's kind of intriguing when you think of that, the world being full of tiny little invisible connections that brings us all together.

And getting to meet and know a person in your life is also an amazing thing, it seems like every encounter is so random yet so carefully arranged. Who would have known that the quiet girl who was in the same group as me in my lab during my first year, whom I never get to talk much with and whom I didn't know her name, went for exchange to UK and stayed in the same hostel with me two years later?

Who would have known that during the first day of my English class last semester, where I picked random seat because I didn't know anyone, I ended up sitting next to another girl who've went for exchange with us too, but whom I've only saw twice during that whole 4 months in UK (because we're in different campus)?

Who would have expected to meet your primary school or secondary school classmate who've lost contact with you at the most unexpected places? The call of your name, the turn of your head, the blank moment as you try to recall, and the ultimate surprise and mild joy that someone actually remembered your face and your name.

And when I was on the way to my Japanese studies class today, a class which I did not know anyone, I had a feeling that I might just end up sitting next to a person I know. It turns out that the guy sitting next to me is this pretty high profile guy who used to stay in my hostel, i.e. people know him, but he might not know everyone. I used to walk past him in the hostel, I used to see him talk and laugh with my friends, but I never thought that we would get to know each other because I didn't belong in that group. The only impression I had of him was him wearing glasses, a big yellow tee, shorts and sports shoes, going somewhere (but I forgot where) But who would have known? We started talking after the class and he said he'll leave a seat for me every week during class.

I don't know. It really blows me away. Those numerous meaningless encounters you've had in life are not that meaningless after all, one day they'll come back to you. Those people who walk past you everyday, the lady whom you've bumped into accidentally, the guy whom you've borrowed a ten cent coin too, they might just cross your life one day. It's like the 'Turn Left, Turn Right' story.

Fate is such an amazing thing. Wow~