In early 2008, I was speaking with my friend Jean who lives in Toronto, Canada. It was a Sunday night and she asked me - apropos of nothing - whether or not I had seen our mutual friend Jo. Jean and I had visited her in Canterbury, England in 1994, and Jean was wondering if I had seen her since then. I said that I hadn't, but had often wondered where she was. We left the conversation at that. I had not thought of Jo for at least ten years, nor, seemingly, had Jean.

Two days later, on the Tuesday, I was walking from my house in London to meet a friend for dinner a few blocks away. I was running late so I took a slight shortcut through some back streets. As I turned into Acre Lane, I walked past a shop and saw a woman coming out who looked very familiar. We both looked at each other for a second, and I said, "Pardon me, but is your name Jo?"

It was indeed Jo. She was in London for one evening to meet a friend, although she had been staying with her parents about 50 miles away for the past week. She was due to return to Macedonia the next day where she had lived for a great many years. Needless to say, Jean, Jo and I remain in touch, and I can only thank the universe for this marvelous chance to reconnect with a friend from many years ago.

Andrea Woodside

[Ed note:] Please notice the critical elements in this story:
1. The casual mention of Jo's name two days earlier;
2. Andrea running late;
3. Andrea taking a shortcut;
4. The timing of walking past the shop;
5. Jo's presence in London for one evening only.
A change in any of the elements 2-5 would have made the meeting impossible. Some spiritual force must have engineered the event very carefully. JWS