THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO Karma or Coincidence? Countdown (Becky Kyle)

If you've read this intro already, by all means, skip right down to the guest post!

As many of you know, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, my second novel for young adults officially comes out March 25th from Algonquin Young Readers.

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO tells the story of almost-16-yr-old Francesca “Beans” “Frankie” Schnell who, four years ago witnessed her baby brother, Simon, drown. Guilty and broken, Francesca has hunkered down in the shadows of her life, resolved to play second fiddle to her dead brother’s memory and to her best friend Lisette, a blonde bubbly beauty Francesca lives vicariously through. That is, until she meets a young boy named Frankie Sky who bears an uncanny resemblance to her brother. Frankie brings humor and hope to Francesca’s life, but are all the similarities between Frankie and Simon merely wishful coincidences, or could he be Simon’s reincarnation?

Curious coincidences abound in THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO —not only the overlaps between Simon and Frankie Sky, but also Bradley’s gift to Francesca, Bradley’s bird sighting, and the ties to the statue of  Saint Florian (sorry, you'll have to read to know what these are ;)). Midway through the story Francesca starts to think these events can’t really all just be coincidences, but maybe are “something bigger and magical at work.”

Have you ever experienced strange events that seemed like more than coincidence and made you wonder if fate was at work or that soul and or reincarnation exist?

Throughout the month, I've decided to pose that question to friends, some writers, others bearing other artistic talents, for a brief account of their own experience with karma, kismet or a mystical connection. I leave you to answer the question, “Karma or coincidence? Random or something more magical at work?” 

I hope you find these stories as intriguing and lovely as I do.

- gae

Today, I have writer friend and cat enthusiast Becky Kyle, contributor to Ladies of Trade Town and other anthologies, and editor of Tails from the Frontline (Wolfsinger Press, November 2014) telling a story of a near miss and some well-timed fate on Halloween...

Halloween 1998 – We had just moved to Beaverton, Oregon and I was new to the area. I finished a rose latch hook rug for my best friend, who’d lost a family member, and I wanted to find binding for it. It was 3:30 PM and I knew I could just make it around the corner to the Craft Warehouse to get what I needed before the big rush of Intel and Nike employee traffic hit.

I arrived at the Craft Warehouse and was surprised to learn that, while they sold latch hook

rug kits, they did not sell the binding material. 

They suggested I go to Joann’s Crafts, which was about a half-mile away. I figured I still had time to make it before 4:00, but got preoccupied by the staff who had always mostly ignored me before then, but had suddenly taken an interest in my project. 

I rolled the rug out and was pleased to get many compliments from the crew. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t get out of the store – the sales help wanted me to show other customers and as people came in and saw there was a show-and-tell going on, they wanted to see, too.

It was near 4:00 before I could leave Craft Warehouse. I considered the traffic and opted to still head to Joann’s so I could get the rug done and get it out to my friend. As I neared the store, I heard quite a few sirens, but that wasn’t uncommon. This was off 185, which was a very busy street.

When I arrived at the Joann’s, I asked for directions to the area where they sold rug binding. The clerk was quite abrupt and told me I couldn’t get to it. I politely asked if she might get me what I needed. 

She explained that, no, there was now a car where the rug binding was.

When I walked out of the store, sure enough I could see to the other side where a massive 1970’s sedan was sticking out the windows. An elderly woman in her eighties had lost control nd hit the window at full speed. She was at the hospital undergoing emergency treatment. 

The time she’d hit was almost exactly the time I would have arrived at Joann’s if I had set out as soon as I learned the Craft Warehouse did not carry what I needed. If the admirers at Craft Warehouse had not held me back, I would have been standing at the rack in the exact spot where the car had hit and likely would have been killed or seriously injured. 

- Becky