The journey was to be short. Words, if at all spoken, would be very few. There was no time to make new friends. We knew we’d be going separate ways. It was highly unlikely I’d run into the same person again. Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter. We would fail to remember each other. That didn’t matter either. Some friendships last forever; some last only a minute.

It is pretty interesting to note how many strangers we meet everyday. Some end up as friends. Some remain mere passer-bys. Well, we all know how great our friends are (even though they fail to give you the money that they owe you) and we have taken their existence for granted (as in a regular part of our lives). What interests me more are these passer-bys. Their life is probably completely different from yours; perhaps they have encountered hundreds of incidents and circumstances in their lives that would really surprise or amuse you; and yet we will never be able to experience anything; just because they would remain mere passer-bys in our lives.

I met Katherine on an elevator (I generally prefer not taking names; but I have presumed I wouldn’t be meeting her again). Our conversation would be limited from the 6^th floor to the ground floor. Conversations between strangers are generally initiated because of an accidental ice-breaker. Katherine persistently pressed the button for the 6^th floor failing to notice that she was ALREADY on the 6^th floor. A burst of laughter and our short conversation began. In the 2-minute talk that followed, I learnt a bit about her crazy nature of changing majors ranging from theater to community health sciences. She had to go to the commons room while I had to catch a bus home. We smiled at each other and that was it. We never talked to each other again.

I met Chris in the Atlanta airport. Few minutes before I left to my friends’ place. Chris was waiting for his boyfriend to pick him up … he was going to Vegas. They would fly to Denver and drive to Vegas with another bunch of friends. Chris had just found a new job in one of the casinos where his boyfriend already works. He was brimming with joy at the thought of going there. I had to leave. I may never meet him again.

I had this random call from a random person. She had just decided to jumble up her own mobile number and see where the new number leads to. It led to me; on the day I was alone at home and finding it hard to pass time. She talked a lot of random stuff. To me, it was just another wrong number. But if I could talk over 2 hours on phone with my friends incessantly, I could talk at least for 30mins. with a wrong number. Moreover, she had this uncanny practice of bursting into regional songs on the phone. This went on for a while after which both of us unanimously decided that we better hang up. Today, I don’t even remember what that number was. I don’t even remember if I ever asked her what her name was. I don’t even know where she is or what she’s doing. I don’t think I’ll ever have such a conversation with her again.

I have had such short conversations - with people in the bus from Centre Avenue to 5^th Avenue; on a flight from Dallas to Pittsburgh; on the train from Thiruvananthapuram to Bangalore; during the 90 minutes of a boring seminar; during the 30 minutes spent playing flip cup! It is abusrd to even think about whether a relationship was developing – sometimes it was never meant to be!

To me, one of the favorite things in life is to know people. Every person has such fantastic stories to reveal. Every person is a walking story book. I feel privileged that I get to read new stories every single day. I think I can learn so much about myself talking to these so-called ‘strangers’. In essentiality, I eventually become less of a stranger to myself!