Deja Vu

Today I recognized the title of the book a woman sitting across from me was reading: Slavery by Another Name. I saw the cover, black with white lettering, and suddenly remembered having seen it the week before in the exact same spot. I looked up at the reader, and I realized this was the same woman sitting across from me, reading the same book as last week. I considered speaking up to acknowledge the coincidence, but decided against it, considering the fact that we were almost to the station where I would switch trains. When we arrived, I ran out to catch the next train and took an open seat among many. I waited for the train to pull out, but the driver was waiting for more passengers. As I watched the crowd file into my car, who should I see but the Slavery by Another Name lady. And she took the seat right next to me. I almost said something like, "Hello again," but then I realized that she's never looked up from Slavery by Another Name to notice me. And I didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Especially now that we were in such close proximity to each other. So I just smiled down at my hands, charmed by the strange sensation of chance.