If there had been even one fewer opportunity, we would never have intersected. In this world, meeting is never a given.

The sea of people is so vast. People from all corners of the world were always supposed to live their own lives. It was the right time, the right circumstances, and—right in that one fleeting thought—that drew us, who had nothing to do with each other, together.

Fate is not some grand arrangement, but our lucky grasp of the same moment amid countless coincidences.

So I understand all the more clearly how rare this encounter is. A single thought’s difference can mean strangers forever. If we had less luck along the way—one less link in the chain—we would have known nothing of each other from beginning to end, with no connection at all.

Fortunately, in the end, all the coincidences were meant to bring you and me together.