The Attraction of Fate
Do you believe in the "attraction of fate"? The idea that two people from opposite sides of the world can somehow cross paths, fall in love, and build a family together?
It is a force that some cultures call "destiny" and others call the "Red Thread of Fate"—a bond that pulls two people toward a shared life. I used to believe in it deeply, because Genta-san and I met through that very attraction.
It all began on an ordinary day. A friend invited me to a dinosaur exhibition downtown. I wasn't particularly interested in fossils, but it seemed better than spending my weekend in bed after a long work week. I arrived early and stood waiting outside, but then my phone rang.
"Hello, Ayumi... I’m so sorry. My cat suddenly got sick, and I have to take her to the vet. I can’t make it today."
"It’s okay. I’ll just walk around for a bit and head home," I sighed, hanging up before heading into the exhibit alone.
The hall was filled with towering skeletons. Even though I wasn't a fan, I found myself intrigued. I wandered past the displays until I reached a section in the back where a mass of bones lay huddled together. The plaque explained it was a prehistoric graveyard—perhaps a toxic watering hole where animals gathered to die.
As I was engrossed in reading, a strange force—like a gentle, invisible shove—nudged me to the side. I stumbled and bumped right into a man standing nearby.
"I’m so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going," I stammered. The man was Genta-san. He looked at me with the kindest eyes. He was incredibly handsome.
"It’s alright. It was my fault for not being careful," he replied shyly before walking away.
But as he passed me, it felt as though we were suddenly being pulled together by something. Our backs collided gently. We both turned to apologize again, each thinking we had stumbled into the other. Before we knew it, our hands were locked together instinctively. We pulled away quickly, our faces flushing deep red.
"I apologize for being so forward," Genta-san said, "but if you don't mind, may I buy you a drink to make up for it?" He said exactly what I was thinking; if he hadn't asked, I probably would have found an excuse to ask him myself.
A Magnetic Connection
We sat at a nearby café. Genta-san was a perfect gentleman, trying to keep a polite distance. But even then, our shoulders would graze each other as we walked, as if some force kept narrowing the gap.
"It’s like there’s a magnet between us," he whispered bashfully. "I felt pulled toward you the moment I saw you... By the way, I’m Genta."
"I’m Ayumi," I replied, my heart racing.
After that, we exchanged numbers. We started running into each other everywhere—on trips abroad, in remote mountain villages, and even at a hot spring in Narita. It happened so often that we both briefly feared the other was a stalker. Once, I saw him at a Pachinko parlor and tried to slip away, only to board a train and find him sitting in the very next seat. Eventually, we realized it truly was fate and began dating. We shared everything—thoughts, feelings, and a love for hiking in the deep woods.
The Polar Shift
One weekend, we decided to camp in an uncharted forest to stargaze. It was supposed to be romantic, but a sudden, violent storm shattered that dream.
"Ayumi! We have to get to the car! It's too dangerous!" Genta yelled as the wind tore our tent away. We grabbed what we could and ran.
CRACK!!
A bolt of lightning struck exactly where we stood. The last thing I saw was a blinding white light before everything went black.
When I woke up in the hospital, my mother told me we had been struck by lightning but survived—the first couple in the world to walk away from such a direct hit unscathed. But when I was finally discharged and went to meet Genta at the station, everything had changed.
As he ran toward me, I felt a violent "push." I was thrown backward, hitting the ground hard.
"Are you okay?" Genta reached out, but the closer he got, the more we were forced apart. It was no longer a pull; it was a powerful, invisible repulsion. We were like two magnets with the same poles. If we tried to hold hands, the force would shake our arms until we let go.
One day, the repulsion was so strong it launched me into the path of a speeding truck. Genta tried to lunge for me, but the force radiating from him blasted me across the road to safety. We were alive, but we couldn't even stand in the same room.
The Final Attraction
"I can't live like this," Genta cried over the phone. "I want to be near you."
We decided to go back to that forest, hoping a second strike would "flip" our poles back to normal. We waited for weeks, communicating only by phone. Finally, the clouds rolled in.
CRACK!! Lightning struck Genta directly. I was close enough to be knocked unconscious by the shockwave.
I woke up in the hospital again. My mother’s face was pale with horror. I felt a heavy weight on my chest and smelled something foul—the scent of charred meat.
"What's happening? Why is there a corpse in my bed?" I screamed.
"I don't know..." my mother sobbed. "When you arrived, you and Genta were fused together. No matter how hard the doctors pull, he just slides back to you. You're stuck."
I looked down in terror. Genta’s body—now a blackened, charred husk—was stuck to mine. His face was a horrific, burnt mask. Even when the doctors tried to remove him, his remains would fly through the air to latch back onto my skin like a magnet with infinite strength. Even if they buried the pieces, they would find their way back to me.
And now, I can feel him. His charred flesh is beginning to melt, seeping into my own pores, merging our bodies into one... forever.
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