There are coincidences and happenings in your life that you can’t quite explain, but you’re happy they happened. I’ve been reflecting on those moments, as I’ve been nostalgic as a second semester senior.

My favorite unexplained coincidence happened in April 2016 when I was flying to Italy. I was traveling by myself for the first time to see my now ex-boyfriend whose family was living in Turin at the time. After a sketchy 15-person commuter flight from Windsor to Toronto, I boarded a flight to Rome. I had a window seat, and the seat next to me was vacant. I was so hoping no one would sit there so I could stretch out on this 9 hour economy hell ride. Instead, I got Fran.

Fran was the gentleman that occupied the aisle seat next to me. He looked to be in his early 60’s, and had a full head of white hair, dark rimmed glasses, and a gap in between his two front teeth. When he was putting his bags in the overhead bin, he said a friendly hello and got settled. He briefly asked me where I was travelling to, and I explained myself. I asked him the same, and he said that his daughter lives in Rome and she just had a baby. He was going to meet his granddaughter for the first time, and I thought it was so sweet and pure. We took off, and we both went back to our respective books. My book was in English, his was in French.

We were served our surprisingly decent dinner on Air Canada, both of us ordering complimentary wine. Mine was white, his was red. I was minding my own business when he looked at me with his raised cocktail glass of wine to say cheers. I took my headphones out and we made a toast to new adventures. After dinner, we both fell asleep. I woke up to Fran tapping me on the shoulder because breakfast was being served, and I had my head on his shoulder. Who knows how long I had been invading this kind man’s personal space. I was a little embarrassed, but he didn’t even mention it. As we landed and disembarked, we said our goodbyes and went on our way.

A week after my lovely trip in Italy, I boarded a flight from Rome to Toronto. I was lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me on this flight, so life was good. I landed, and I had 3 hours till my flight to Windsor. I was standing in the chaos that is customs in Toronto, and guess who is standing 20 feet away from me? FRAN! I could not believe it that out of the 20,000 people that go through Toronto Pearson a day, I saw him. I got out of my line, went into his line and tapped on his shoulder. He greeted me with that same friendly hello he had given me when we met, but this time it was accompanied with a hug. We were both in awe that somehow, we arrived back in this airport on the same day, at the same time, on different flights.

I asked him when his next flight was, and he said that it wasn’t for a few hours. We just so happened to be flying out of the same terminal for our connecting flights, so we sat at a Tim Horton’s for two hours. We showed each other pictures of our respective trips. He showed me the beautiful pictures of his new granddaughter, and it was so special. He was glowing, and I found myself realizing that our meeting may have not just been coincidental.

My grandpa had died a week before I embarked on my trip. I had the trip planned for months, and it was only 3 days after the funeral I jetted off to Italy. I believe that Fran was put on my flight next to me for a reason. He gave me such a great sense of comfort and kindness that I needed at that very moment. I told him about my grandpa’s passing, and he agreed that forces of the universe brought us together, as he was a very spiritual person. We never exchanged information, but I felt like we didn’t need to. We connected exactly when we needed to, and that was more than I could have asked for my first solo traveling experience.

Signed,

Mary Herman