A Miracle in the Stylish Town of Omotesando

Ever since I was young, I have had a knack for running into friends, acquaintances, and even family members by pure coincidence.

When I was in elementary school, I was floating on a rubber ring in the sea in Fukui Prefecture when I heard,


“Wait! Mika?!”


I had run into a girl from my class. We were even staying at the same hotel.

When I was in college, I was smoking a cigarette behind my parents' backs when I felt someone watching me. I looked across the street and saw a man staring at me with a look of pure fury on his face.

It was my father.

The two of us stared at each other for a while.

I quickly crushed the cigarette out in the palm of my hand.

I walked away as if nothing had happened, but I got a severe scolding when I got home.

My palm stung for a while.

Even now, I still run into all sorts of people. It happens when I'm shopping at a store,


in a hospital waiting room,
when I'm waiting at a crosswalk in my car and a friend walks right in front of me,


or when I'm riding my bike and pass a friend riding theirs in the opposite direction.

It happens on train platforms,
or when the train doors open and a friend is standing right there by the handrail.

I've passed friends on escalators in department stores,
and I've even run into them at a minor ticket gate at Shinjuku Station.

Well, these are just a few examples; I really do run into all kinds of people everywhere.

The day before yesterday, on Saturday afternoon, a miracle happened.

The fan meeting for my favorite idol was drawing closer. (Article: “My 24-Year-Old Idol”)

I had booked an appointment at a hair salon in Omotesando.
Komeko-chan (Article: “The Woman Who Masters Rice Flour”), who I was going to the fan meeting with, also happened to have booked a hair salon appointment on the same day. She was at a different salon, but it was in the same Omotesando area.

After I finished my color and cut, I checked my LINE and saw a message from Komeko-chan.

She told me about how delicious the homemade raisin rolls she ate that morning were, that she wanted to try making raisin bread and chocolate bread next, and that she had baked rice flour cookies for her hairdresser again today.

Komeko-chan is still busy baking rice flour cookies and bread as always.

As someone who loves bread,

"Will you marry me?"

I sent that via LINE, and then,

Komeko-chan passed right in front of me.

Wait, wait, wait.

I instinctively jumped in front of Komeko-chan.

Whaaaaaaaaah!

Startled, Komeko-chan let out a scream that echoed throughout Omotesando, the likes of which I had never heard before.

Yes, this is the stylish town of Omotesando.

Everyone in Omotesando turned around at her scream.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah! I was seriously surprised!"

"Look, look, I have goosebumps."

We giggled.

This is why running into someone by chance is so irresistible.

We shook hands and parted with smiles.

What an incredible miracle that was.

This... must surely be a sign that something is going to happen at my favorite idol's fan meeting.

Click. My delusion switch has been flipped.

Having my submitted question read aloud

Being carried bridal-style

Having my head patted

Being pinned against a wall

Handshake

Getting to smell their scent

Filled with the joy of bumping into Komeko-chan and the anticipation for the fan meeting, I walked through the stylish town of Omotesando with a grin on my face.

On the train ride home, as I write this note about the miracle, I suddenly wonder.

Could that person typing away on their laptop right in front of me actually be that fellow noter?

Thinking that makes me feel a bit excited.

The fun that spreads precisely because I don't know their face.

I might have actually bumped into a noter I'm close with somewhere I don't even know.