No Coincidences

It was a warm day in the summer of 2020. I was walking around my neighborhood, and the sun was shining so brightly that it made everything look like it was on fire. I walked past a house that had been abandoned for a while, but that day it seemed like something different had happened there. I opened the front door and stepped inside. I looked around, but I couldn't really see anything different or unusual about the place—except for maybe its smell. It smelled like old wood and moldy earth and something else that wasn't quite right. But then again, everything smelled strange when you were in a place where no one lived anymore. I walked down the hallway toward what used to be the living room, but now it was just an empty space with dust everywhere and cobwebs hanging from the ceiling like giant Christmas lights. The whole house felt like it belonged in a movie about haunted houses or something creepy like that. "Hello?" I called out as loudly as I could manage. "Is anyone here?" No answer came back from anywhere around me, so finally I just decided to go back outside again before someone saw me wandering around inside this place alone! But suddenly a voice replied from somewhere. "Yes," came a soft voice from somewhere. "Come on in." There I saw an old lady sitting behind the table with a book. She had long brown hair that was plaited into two braids and a kind face full of wrinkles. Her eyes were wide and blue like mine, but they were so deep-set that they looked almost black at times. She wore an old pair of jeans and an old shirt that was buttoned. "Hello," she said again as she stood up from her chair. Would you like some water or something?" "No thanks," I replied quickly as I stepped inside with my eyes fixed on the old woman. She looked up at me and smiled. "Hello." The woman's voice broke through my thoughts: "You know, there are no coincidences," she said. "What?" I asked, turning around to face her. "What do you mean?" "You're looking for something, aren't you?" She asked me gently. "Do you want to tell me about it?" I looked at her for a moment before shaking my head slowly. "No thanks," I replied again after a moment of silence had passed between us. "I don't think so." The woman sat at her desk, looking up at me as I entered. Her eyes were kind, but I didn't dare look at them again after the first few seconds of our meeting. She hadn't asked me any questions yet, but I knew what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth. "You're looking for something," she said gently. "Do you want to tell me about it?" I shook my head slowly, which made the woman frown slightly before she continued speaking again. "There are no coincidences," she said slowly. "Everything happens for a reason." I looked at her for a moment before shaking my head slowly again and turning around to stare out the window once more. Just a minute later, though, I heard myself say something that sounded like a question. My mind was full of questions—about why I was there and why I was talking to this woman in particular—but nothing seemed to make any sense or come together in any way that made sense to me. Just then, though—something caught my eye out of the corner of my left eye: a face that wasn't familiar or clear, but seemed off somehow... something about it just felt wrong. I turned toward it and saw that it was nothing special—just a face that seemed vaguely familiar, but not very great. And then I heard another noise; something big was outside my window! With fear in my heart and adrenaline pumping through my veins, I grabbed my coat and ran out of the room as fast as I could go— but when I reached the doorframe leading out to the old lady standing in front of me. She smiled and was close to me. Darkness in my eyes and numbness in my hands made me feel like I was dreaming or having some kind of seizure. I fell unconscious. Time passed. I woke up as if from a dream. Suddenly I remembered that face. I jumped up and looked around. The old lady was nowhere to be seen. When I got up, I picked up the paper that had fallen from me. The first word is Yash Daniel. Yash Pappu is in the bracket. Yash Pappu my mind came up with that name again. My mind wandered back over the years. Yash Pappu, the old man who used to play with me, who loved to listen to my little news and who gave me lots of encouragement in dancing and singing, came to my memory. I remember coming happily to see Pappu on the day school closed for second class vacation and going back sadly not being able to see him. My eyes went back to the paper. Seeing all this, the old lady was standing at the back of the door. She slowly came to me and said: "I am Yash Pappu's younger sister". The old lady smiled at me, and I smiled back. "Aren't you the little girl you were then," she said. "I was waiting for you." Yash Pappu's sister told me the circumstances of Pappu leaving there. When Pappu's brothers came to visit Pappu by chance, they found him lying down. He loved living in this place. He never liked to go anywhere. But he could not stay there in that conditions. He lived happily with his brothers. He used to tell her about a little girl who came to him from time to time. When she saw me years later, she remembered his words. She told me that Pappu died a few years ago, but she always felt that he was with her in spirit. She remembered him fondly and said his death was a great loss to her family. She spent more time with me and told me the good news: after building a new house, she will return to this place with her son and family. The phone rang. “Did you forget to shop? How long have I been waiting here? Come quickly." I told Yash Pappu's sister that it was my friend Susan who had called and we had to go shopping. I returned from there happily saying that I would see you again.