- Josh Hartnett
Saturday afternoons are really the worst times to travel. This is not the first time, and it probably would not be the last either. She holds on to the metal railing next to her albeit cautiously, trying hard not to think of who else could have left their mark there, or left some particular stains behind.
She grimaces as she sees a fellow standing in the far right corner who seems particularly interested in discovering the contents of his nose. It was almost a reflex action to let go of the railing and try to balance and not bump into anyone next to her. Quite a feat really, considering that she is currently sandwiched between a lady prone to flicking that hair of hers, which lands a sharp sting as it hits the faces of those near enough, and a teenager who looks like he’s going to suffer from some sort of a neck sprain if he continues that bobbing of his head.
She refrains from sighing, and instead, tries to comfort herself that with just another fifteen minutes, she will be able to get off the train and be on her way to her destination. The music of the teenager continues to blast into her ears. She reminds herself, ‘Fifteen more minutes…fifteen more minutes...’
She closes her eyes and continues her balancing act, and as she does so, a familiar train of thought surfaces. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if there is someone, someone who is significant or is going to be significant in my life, here in the same train as me?’She thought, ‘Like some sort of chance encounter, where two people meant to be with each other happen to be in the same place at the same time, but they don’t really know of it?’An idealistic romantic at heart, her mind is prone to wander to such thoughts from time to time.
‘What about like right here, right now?’As she feels the wind in the train compartment blow past her, she can feel the beginnings of a smile on her face.
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‘Seven more stops. Fifteen more minutes to go.’ Today is not a good day for him. Having sent his car for repairs, he has no choice but to bear with the subway for his mode of transport to work. On a Saturday no less. Dressed in his usual brown coat, light-blue long sleeved shirt, and dark brown pants, he looks just like the rest of the people on board the train. It is just he feels a little claustrophobic all of a sudden, feeling cramped by the people around him. He can hardly make out the faces of the people around him for goodness’ sake; they are all packed up like sardines against each other.
Fiddling with his green tie, with which he had no idea why he made the extra effort to look nice, he tries to look around him and immediately regrets it after seeing a person digging his nose in the far left corner of the train compartment.
‘I wonder is there any good that can come out of traveling in a crowded train on a Saturday afternoon?’ He closes his eyes, and tries to block out the noise around him. ‘Fifteen more minutes…’
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After forty painful minutes, she finally reaches her destination for that day: Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Here for the first time to pick up her friend’s meds on her behalf, she feels a little lost and she glances at the signs around hoping to find a sign that will point her to the pharmacy.
Just as she is looking around and preparing to approach the counter for help, she feels someone brushing past her. She looks up only in time to see a man in a brown coat walking briskly away from her. Looking at the direction he is walking towards, she happens to notice the sign she has been looking for- directions to PPTH’s Pharmacy. ‘Maybe that person was sent to help me find the place I was looking for!’She realizes that something good can be found in something bad after all. It is just a matter of perspectives.
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The queue at the pharmacy was long to say the least. It took her at least two hours before she got her turn and another hour to pick up the meds and to pay for them. Her friend better be grateful about this…
After three hours of visiting patients, scheduling and overseeing of treatments, Dr. James Wilson is ready to pack up and head straight for home. There hasn’t been much to do at the hospital lately, and for once, he is glad for the rest.
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Adjusting the bag-strap over his right shoulder, he walks out of the lift, and heads towards the glass doors. And for the second time that day, his shoulder brushes against another. Only this time round, he notices her. It was hard not to. With her messy brownish blonde hair, her colorful scarf, and that smile on her face, she is quite a remarkable sight. Not to mention, the light in her eyes as she immediately says “sorry” and looks up with a sheepish smile on her face.
He finds himself smiling back unconsciously, replying with an “it’s alright.” She smiles back at him again and extends her hand out for a proper introduction. “I’m not quite sure if we’ve met before, as you seem quite familiar…Anyway, I’m Allison.”
“James Wilson. I am quite sure we have not met before, or at least we have not been properly introduced to each other as of yet. I work in this hospital actually…”He resists the urge to fiddle with his tie, instead choosing to focus on her next words.
“So I presume you’re a doctor? Now that is interesting…Say, do you have time? I happen to know of this great diner just round the corner, and I am really famished and tired after a long day of traveling. Do you want to grab a bite together?”
“That sounds nice, a good dinner and rest is exactly what I had in mind. Shall we make a move then?” His warm smile squashes all hesitancy she may have felt earlier about proposing dinner with a stranger she has just met for a few minutes. A stranger she feels she has known for quite a while.
With that, they proceed to walk out of the hospital’s compound, talking and laughing as though they have met before and as though this isn’t their first time meeting each other.
In fact, unbeknownst to them, this is actually their third chance encounter. Moreover, who knows? There may have been more chance meetings between them before this Saturday’s. And that is precisely why they are called chance encounters.
Then again, Richard Bach once said, "Nothing happens by chance, my friend...No such thing as luck. A meaning behind every little thing, and such a meaning behind this. Part for you, part for me, may not see it all real clear right now, but we will, before long."
This seems more like the case for this pair of people. Indeed, one can conclude, nothing occurs by chance.
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