Once and For a Lifetime

Yasmine BIDAWI, Terminale

While I am not an enthusiast of the renowned French writer Victor Hugo, his words often captivate and carry me away. In a moment of wisdom, he expressed, and I prefer stating it in French for its poetic résonance,  “Et puis il y a ceux que l’on croise, que l’on connaît à peine, qui vous disent un mot, une phrase, vous accrochent une minute, une demi-heure et changent le cours de votre vie.” This translates in English to, “And then there are those whom we cross paths with, whom we barely know, who say a word, a phrase, captivate us for a minute, half an hour, and change the course of our life.”

Human interactions throughout our lives impact each of us, but there is something about those brief encounters that lingers in the recesses of our minds, replaying ceaselessly. An endless tape, replaying the same conversation: a dialogue that, in reality, unfolded over twenty minutes on a random Thursday afternoon; a conversation brimming with significance despite its brevity.

Now, imagine revisiting that conversation, the same day, the same scenario, the same person. Would you have acted differently? Spoken more? Certainly, I would have. Alas, as human beings, our tendency to react belatedly often gives rise to countless “what ifs” and “should haves”…

Let’s delve deeper into these impactful encounters with random strangers we occasionally chance upon. 

You find yourself in the same area, perhaps even the same room; your eyes meet a couple of times, yet no further interaction unfolds. Suddenly, you’re not merely sharing space; you’re seated closer to each other. You can now identify their eye color. Words flow effortlessly, and you find yourselves immersed in a seemingly silly conversation about the smallest things, the chairs, the room’s scent, the people around you… But it feels different, doesn’t it? I don’t know you, yet an inexplicable familiarity and ease permeate the air.

In that very moment, you wish the conversation never ends, the words never run out, and time halts until you’re ready for it to resume.

At that very moment, you want to say more, but you just don’t. You part ways, back-to-back, turning a couple of times to check if they too turned. They’ve disappeared, and all that remains is the memory of an ordinary yet unforgettable conversation. “I should’ve said more.” Would that have meant the chance to see them, talk to them, laugh with them once again? Perhaps, but how would I know?

Left wondering, you realize it’s not as easy anymore, and your mind isn’t as clear. Thoughts roam around in your brain, fragments of the conversation, echoes of laughter, a profound sense of tranquility and mindfulness that once was and will never be again. All because I didn’t say more.

Imprinted by this one conversation, it becomes a lifelong contemplation, a lifetime filled with wonder and “what ifs.”

“What if I had done it differently? I wonder where we would be now.”