181: 24.3 Serendipity

I was at the newly opened Costa in our hospital - finally able to have lunch after a hectic Saturday morning. All the patients that were meant to be discharged were discharged, so I thought I would take a minute to refuel before joining the ward team. It was there where I met M, she was a doctor working in the Emergency Department. Not knowing one another before, we exchanged comments about Costa drinks which somehow led to deep conversations about marriage, life plans and friends. Probably we both needed the company on a sad work weekend. And it also helps that she is also a Muslim hijabi - somehow we automatically gravitate towards each other.

“Wait, you probably know some medical students from Barts in my year. Did you know my friend, D?” she asked.

Funnily enough, although there are so many Malaysians in London and we couldn’t all know each other, in this specific circumstance, I did know D. We’ve met in a couple of occasions, she was close with some of my friends so we bumped into each other during dinners or lunches. I admired her from afar but never got the opportunity to get to know her. She was a junior doctor working in the UK - a doctor who was also battling cancer. I followed her story through social media, now and again checking up on her and updates on her health. Unfortunately, as you can tell with my use of past tenses, she had since lost her life battling cancer. I remember hearing of the news and feeling numb. A was there and when I told him, I broke down in tears. I didn’t know her and she didn’t know me - but I felt like I did. And I was and am still inspired by her strength, bravery and faith through her short but impactful life.

“I was close to her. She stayed with me and my mom for a month when she was sick. Her husband stayed with us too when he visited from Malaysia.”

It was then when I realised who I was actually meeting. I did know M before through stories of D. She was the friend who kindly opened her home to D when she was seeking treatment. She was who my friends were referring to when they spoke of D after she passed. I have seen pictures of her house in social media when my friends were visiting D before she left for home. It felt strange meeting her now, but also very serendipitous. Like it was orchestrated by Him - it honestly couldn’t have been just a chance encounter.

“You must be the M my friends were telling me about. It is very nice to meet you. This world is really so very small.”