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Serendipity

The accident that was meant to be
by Kanchi
May 13, 2004
Accident : anything that happens by chance without an apparent cause. You think? Maybe. Or maybe not. Who's to say that the accident wasn't really an accident but that it was really meant to happen - it was destined.

Have you wondered how different your life would be if everything happened a split second later? You answered the phone call you got just as you left your home. You caught the bus that you missed by a second. You crossed the road an instant earlier or later. You reach the a park bench at 6:00 - not at 6:05. You never know what you could find.

This is the story of A Book - the start of an infite number of things that could happen to A Book. This was not a usual book - you'll find out why.

The scene - a park. Anywhere in the world.

It's 2:36 PM.

A teenage boy walks on the grass - ignoring the sign that tells him not to. He's wearing jeans and a T-shirt. It's a bit cold... he regrets that he ran out of the house in such a hurry without his sweater. Why now? Why him? It was his dream - his only dream. The rejection letter wasn't long - just a few lines. They were enough to crush the greatest dream of his life. What would he do now? He kicks the stone away. There's a lone bench in the harsh sunlight. He moves towards it and sees something. It's a book. A very small book. What a strange title he thinks, and picks it up. Johnathan Livingston Seagull. Within moments he is engrossed. An hour later, he looks up. He feels better. He heads back home. He's got new plans he wants to talk to his parents about. Life is good again.

A few days later, he sees a little girl - she couldn't be more than 12. She's on a wheelchair with a nurse, staring longingly at some kids playing tag. The expression on her face is one of despair. He stares at her for a long time. He thinks of the Book in his bag - the one that hasn't left him since that day he found it. It was the Book that brought him luck. He couldn't give it away. But as he looked at her, he realized that the Book had done all that it could for him. That it was time for it to move on. He walked to her, smiled and gave her the Book. She looked surprised for a moment. And then took it, with a brilliant smile. He knew he had done the right thing. He hoped it would help her.

That wasn't the end of the Book's journey. Something in that book called out to be passed on - from person to person. Healing along the way. Bringing hope and laughter back into lives. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes - it was an accident. You think?

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