1日3縁 その２ Three coincidences on one day. Nr.2.

December 30, 2011. Written in Hong Kong.

1日3縁　その２　Three coincidences on one day. Nr.2.

「遠い外国の都会で」　"In a far away foreign city."　　

If you have ever wandered through a far away foreign city, I am sure that you must have at least once asked yourself this question: "Do I even know someone in this place?"

You might remember a guy you met a long time ago on vacation, or this girl that was an exchange student at your university. It would be funny to just coincidentally bump into this person on the streets, you will think, but of course, it hardly ever actually happens.

For me, there was only one person from Hong Kong that I could recall knowing. 6, 7 years ago, we went to cram school together (a school where you study for the entrance exam for the university). I remember her as a friendly and cheerful girl. Her Japanese was very good for a Chinese, and I recall having a conversation with her about delicious fruits in Hong Kong. At the time, she was seeing a Korean guy, whom she met at the same cram school, too. I remember once bumping into them in the cinemas of Shinjuku a long time ago. But actually, while having fond memories of her, there is not a great quantity of them. This is because after the first few months, she started to show up less and less at school. Sometimes, you wouldn't see her for weeks, and when she one day finally showed up, the teacher would say: "Had enough of hibernating, madam?"

And here I was, strolling around in the streets of her hometown, more than 6 years later.  As mentioned before, she was the only person from Hong Kong I could recall. It would be funny to just bump into her, I thought. But would I even be able to recognize her? Especially in a city crowded like Hong Kong, the chance is pretty big that I wouldn't even notice her walking by. Sometimes, I looked around, trying to spot her, just as a joke, just for fun, and of course she was never there.

On my second evening in Hong Kong, I strolled around with my friend Nicolas, through his neighborhood. I bought an "octupus card" , which is used for transport in the city. Nicolas wasn't feeling very well, so we didn't go out for dinner, but he showed me some famous spots located in the neighborhood. After maybe half an hour, we decided to go home again, and on the way back, I suddenly saw someone familiar. I had to stop, and look at her carefully. My friend looked at me confused. Why wasn't I moving?
She was talking with some business men. I walked a bit closer to hear her speak.
She was speaking Japanese, and with that same accent of hers I remembered. There was no question about it anymore, it was her! On my second day, I met the only person (except from Nicolas, of course) I know in this gigantic city.
I approached her, and asked her if she remembered me. She did.