It’s A Small World, And This Girl’s All Over It

In high school, I knew an extremely outgoing girl. Everyone in my friend group knew her from somewhere; she lived down the street from my father, [Friend #1] and [Friend #2] had classes with her, [Friend #3] took dance lessons with her, and so on. None of us were particularly close with [Girl], but all of us knew her.

It’s not like this was a small-town phenomenon, either; I lived in a major city and not all of my friends attended the same school or lived in the same area. On more than one occasion, even years later, we’d somehow bump into people who would mention their friend [Girl], and it was ALWAYS the [Girl] we knew.

Several years after I’ve moved overseas, I run into another foreign woman who looks lost. I offer to help her find her way. It turns out that she’s from my home city, and I give her a few pointers for getting around.

Woman: “Thank you! I would’ve been wandering around forever on my own.”

Me: “No problem. Looks like the building you want is just a few blocks past the entrance to [Famous Landmark], and you can take this bus route to get there.”

Woman: “Oh, [Landmark]?” *Talking to herself* “[Girl] sent me an article about [Landmark]…”

I stop for a moment, thinking that it can’t be. There must be a hundred [Girl]s in my home city. But I have to ask.

Me: “[Girl]? You don’t happen to mean [Girl] [Last Name]?”

Woman: “Tall, blonde, really athletic, and outgoing?”

Me: “Has a sister named [Sister]?”

Woman: “You know her, too?!”

Me: “At this point, I’m convinced everyone in [Home City] knows her!”