Destiny unasked for

I was in a shady T-shirt and worn-out sandals, carrying a bag full of books, boarding a bus under the scorching sun. I kept sweating as the heat was unbearable. As I couldn’t reach my napkin, I kept the sweat on.

The bus wasn’t fully occupied, and opposite to me, standing, I sensed a girl in a sleeveless outfit. I wasn’t paying any attention to how she looked for some time as the heat wasn’t letting me.

We exchanged places to give space to others to move around in the bus.

While buying a ticket, accidentally our eyes met, and that’s where I got to see her. She had a nose piercing, and with that she looked like a classical dancer or someone who would fit well in the faces of an antique period, someone from Ravi varma's paintings.

After that I didn’t look at her for a while, and later she sat down when a seat got empty.

During the journey, occasionally I saw her while looking outside to see where I was.

After a few minutes, I got down at my stop and reached home.

The next day, I went to a classical concert in the afternoon. As usual, it was less crowded and I placed myself in the middle row.

It was a violin concert and since I’d had lunch, it was very relaxing, and occasionally I closed my eyes to get an immersive experience.

As the concert went by, I saw a familiar face just a few seats beside my row. It was the girl I had seen yesterday on the bus. What a coincidence, I thought to myself.

She hadn’t seen me.

I continued listening to the violin piece, and someone behind me had a crazy ringtone which disrupted the ambience and also made her look behind, where our eyes met. It was instantaneous and I could sense a shock in her eyes.

It was a coincidence, but what if she thought I was following her? That thought made me uncomfortable, and for the rest of the concert I made sure I wasn’t ending up in her sight.

As soon as the concert was over, I went towards the exit quickly and left the hall in a rush, which felt like an accomplishment.

And I never thought I would encounter her again, but it happened.

This time, it was at my very own office, in the elevator.

I was at the elevator first and she walked in and pressed the same floor as mine.

I had this urge to bring up this weird coincidence of encountering the same person back to back. What is the universe trying to tell with this? Are we destined for each other? But why? I’m already married and I’d already found my person. Why would this person appear in such a perfectly crafted story? What kind of connection am I going to make with her?

I don’t want to talk to her. Maybe I can ask her name since we’ve met back to back. Maybe I shouldn’t. What if she thinks I’ve been following her, but that isn’t the case this time. I’ve been at this office for over a year, so why would I fake this coincidence? Maybe if I talk, she would think this conversation was obvious, destined to happen.

So I decided not to talk to her and that’s when she said, “Hi.”