Missed connection
I probably should have said something because now I'm just thinking about it like, what are the chances?
Hey! I'm not trying to be creepy and I'm definitely not coming on to you, but have we met somewhere before? A few times before? Let me explain.
I'm wondering if we first met or saw each other somewhere about 15 years ago? Maybe at a bar or a club or a party in Philly? Or maybe we were just MySpace friends? Or maybe we were never MySpace friends but I saw your profile at some point? Or maybe you dated someone who I knew at the time or was vaguely aware of in the Philly punk house hipster scene of the mid 2000s? Or maybe you used to shop at Whole Foods when I worked there when I was in college?
And did we also see each other in Oakland somewhere when I crashed my bike and you happen to be in a car that was driving by, you were in the backseat? We for sure locked eyes and looked at each other for a while and I knew I had seen you before and it looked like you had also seen me before? I was in such a daze because my handlebars got all twisted and I had to haul myself onto the sidewalk but I saw you and recognized you and didn't have a chance to say anything.
Did I also see you today walking your dog in South Philly? I was walking with a friend and my baby and my baby said doggy when she saw your dog and I thought about stopping and asking if we could pet your doggy but I was too scared because I recognized you again and didn't want to freak you out. Maybe I was scared that you wouldn't be the same person, and maybe I was scared that you would be. What would I have said to you? I probably should have said something because now I'm just thinking about it like, what are the chances? If you were the same person, and maybe you are, I'm sure it doesn't mean anything except that we live in a small world.
I told my friend about it over a text message after I was walking home. It took a little while for it all to sink in. I don't want to say it was shock, but I think I was a little shocked, and when I find myself in that mental state it's hard for me to process my thoughts and act rationally. She said, yeah I noticed him looking at you hard. I was like, lol really? And she was like, yeah he really was. So maybe you recognized me too. I guess it's not really that important, but it does feel like a strange coincidence, and this is not the first time I've written about seeing you randomly and wondering about it, it’s probably my third time. It's kind of like that storyline in the movie I Heart Huckabees and I'm Jason Schwartzman's character, except I don't really think the universe is trying to tell me something, although I'm open to a scenario in which it is. Maybe it's a sign that I need to keep writing, need to finish that story, need to finally publish it. And if that's the case, thank you. I'm going to.