'Fate? I call it random existence'

IT'S A FUNNY OLD WORLD

- Kate Eberlen

"Recently, I went to Amsterdam. Though I loved the city, I did not enjoy being a pedestrian. 'This is for cyclists!' a middle-aged woman with a shock of curly hair shouted as she whizzed past, narrowly missing me.

A couple of days later, I received an email forwarded by my agent, from a person called Didi, asking if I remembered meeting on a train from Assisi to Florence over 40 years ago.

Bear with me if these two events appear somewhat unrelated.