SATURDAY: SERENDIPITY

The definition of serendipity is “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.”

It’s a word used sometimes in romance novels, a way to explain things that otherwise seem unlikely or downright impossible. There’s even a film based on the concept, named appropriately Serendipity.

Most romance stories try at least to maintain some level of realism, that the story could actually have taken place as written—more or less. This film takes things in the other direction, showing coincidences that stretch credulity and realism to the limit and beyond.

It has the usual meeting of boy and girl, attraction explodes between them, despite other relationships. After two chance meetings, they vow to try to meet again. The girl, being a big believer in fate, has them conduct an experiment, sending their contact information out into the void in different ways. The idea is that if they find each other again, it was meant to be, if not, well—.

Some reviews of the film criticized the overuse of contrivances to advance the story theme. Things happen in real life, many seemingly against all odds, but this kind of fairy tale is not what most of us experience.

But maybe that’s the idea. If these two can find love together against such immense odds, maybe there’s hope for us ordinary people. I’d like to think so. I hope my stories show that, too.