Serendipity on the Platform

この間の台風の日、近鉄電車が遅れていました。

ホームには、外国からの観光客が十数名。みんな携帯を片手に、少し不安そう。私も詳しい状況まではわからなかったけれど、母娘らしきおふたりに声をかけました。

「今、電車は点検中のようですが、もうすぐ奈良行きの急行が来ると思いますよ」

と伝えると喜んでくれて、周りにいた観光の人たちも集まってきます。みんなに感謝されながら、ほんとにこの情報で合ってるかなという少しの不安と、ちょっと得意げな気持ちでホームに立っていました。

すると、先ほどの娘さんが話しかけてくれました。お二人は日帰りで京都から奈良の東大寺へ行くとのこと。穏やかで、おしゃれで、やわらかな雰囲気のお母さん。パワフルでとても素敵な娘さん。おふたりはスペイン語と、ときどき別の言語も混じえて話しています。

聞けば、もともとカザフスタンのご出身。娘さんはフランスに、お母さんはスペインに住んでいて、家ではカザフ語とスペイン語で話すのだそうです。ロシア語、トルコ語、フランス語も話すと、娘さんが流暢な英語で教えてくれました。

奈良行きの電車に乗ってからもいろいろ話しました。

どうして日本には空き家が多いのか。日本語の難しさ。ラテン語の子音や母音について。お孫さんが柔道してること。

早口で、明るくて、エネルギーあふれるお二人との会話が心地よくて、カザフスタンのことを全然知らないのに、カザフの風がぴゅーっと吹いてきたみたいです。

別れ際、「今週末、一緒にごはんを食べない？」と誘ってくれました。

すごくうれしかったのだけど、週末に予定があって今回は断念。SNSを交換して別れました。でも、なんだか名残惜しくて、少し無理をしてでも、お茶だけご一緒すればよかったかな。せっかくのお誘い、受けたらよかったかな、といろんな思いがでてきます。

同時に、なんにも知らないカザフスタンという国が急にぐっと近く感じられました。その後も連絡を取り合って、これからどんなふうにつながっていくのかはわからないけれど、勝手に、カザフスタンの友人ができたみたい。

SNSを見ると、お母さんのインスタのフォロワーが10万人以上もいてびっくり。投稿はカザフ語で、翻訳機能を通して一部しかわからなかったけれど、若い人たちを励まし、女性のエンパワメントについて、力強く発信されていました。

電車の遅延が、思いがけず素敵な出会いになった、うれしい一日でした。

serendipity という言葉があります。 「偶然の出会いや出来事が、思いがけず素敵な展開につながる」という意味です。

似た言葉に luck があります。 luck は、シンプルに「運」という意味で、良いことにも悪いことにも使えます。「ラッキー」というより、小さなご縁のようなものを感じた今回の出会い。 serendipity という言葉がぴったりだなと思いました。

The other day, on a typhoon day, the Kintetsu train was delayed.

There were more than ten tourists from overseas standing on the platform. Everyone was holding their phone and looking a little anxious. I didn’t know the full situation myself, but I decided to speak to two women who looked like a mother and daughter.

“It seems the train is being inspected right now, but I think an express train to Nara will be coming soon,” I told them.

They looked relieved and happy, and then other tourists nearby began gathering around us too.

As people thanked me, I stood there on the platform with a small worry, “I hope this information is really correct”, and, at the same time, a slightly proud feeling.

Then the daughter started talking to me. The two of them were on a day trip from Kyoto to visit Todaiji Temple in Nara.

The mother had a calm, stylish, and gentle presence. The daughter was powerful, lively, and truly wonderful. They were speaking in Spanish, sometimes mixing in another language as well.

When I asked, I found out that they were originally from Kazakhstan. The daughter lives in France, and the mother lives in Spain. At home, they speak Kazakh and Spanish. The daughter, in fluent English, told me that they also speak Russian, Turkish, and French.

Even after we got on the train to Nara, we kept talking about all kinds of things.

Why there are so many vacant houses in Japan. How difficult Japanese is. Consonants and vowels in Latin.

The fact that her grandchild does judo.

Their way of speaking was fast, bright, and full of energy, and the conversation felt so comfortable. Even though I knew almost nothing about Kazakhstan, it felt as if a fresh Kazakh wind had suddenly blown into my day.

When we were about to part, they asked me, “Would you like to have dinner with us this weekend?”

I was so happy to be invited, but I already had plans that weekend, so sadly I had to give up the idea this time. We exchanged SNS accounts and said goodbye.

Still, I felt a little reluctant to part with them. Maybe I should have pushed myself a bit and at least had tea with them. Maybe I should have accepted their kind invitation. Different thoughts kept coming up afterwards.

At the same time, Kazakhstan, a country I had known almost nothing about, suddenly felt much closer to me. We have stayed in touch since then, and I don’t know how this connection will unfold from here, but somehow I feel as if I have made a Kazakh friend.

When I looked at the mother’s Instagram, I was surprised to see that she had more than 100,000 followers.

Her posts were in Kazakh, so I could only understand part of them through the translation function, but I could tell that she was sending out strong messages encouraging young people and speaking about women’s empowerment.

A train delay unexpectedly turned into a beautiful encounter. It was such a happy day.

There is a word: serendipity.

It means “when a chance encounter or event unexpectedly leads to something wonderful.”

A similar word is luck. Luck simply means “fortune,” and it can be used for both good and bad things.　But this encounter felt like more than just being “lucky.” It felt like a small, meaningful connection. That is why I think the word serendipity fits this encounter perfectly.