Two people live on opposite sides of the world, separated by vast oceans and luscious land. An invisible red string, intangible yet so clearly connected, weaves through mountains and drops down plateaus, connecting the two individuals.

2003

A woman gathers fruits and herbs from an endless green field, with clumps of dirt stuck between her beaten fingers. Sweat drips from her forehead as she raises a hand to her face. Every step squelches louder than the last, the sound traveling for miles and echoing back from the horizon. She lives in complete solitude, constantly at peace, but her need for human interaction grows stronger every day.

A man sits at a small desk, papers stacked to the ceiling, surrounding voices slowly suffocating his every thought. A yellow light bulb flickers every few seconds above, snapping him back to reality and disrupting any will to work. His suit is freshly steam-pressed, not a wrinkle in sight, identical to his coworkers’ to the point where you couldn’t pick him from the crowd. He’s trapped, longing for a sign from the universe to tell him what his purpose in life is.

2012

After constant aches and harsh red scars from working in the fields day after day, the woman takes the last penny out of her glass jar to leave the only home she's ever known. Deep rumbles and piercing screeches fill the sky while people run over one another below. From the scent of crushed petals to rancid body odor, each person is incomparable in this place where so many people intersect; strangers, unconnected, all at different points of their lives. Amongst the chaos, her eyes light up, dimples forming, knowing she’s heading in the right direction.

The cap of a bottle of 2009 Dom Pérignon grazes the ceiling as fizz starts to rush upward, celebrating the promotion the man has just received. The kid in the corner office who moved through crowds like a shadow did the unexpected and was now the regional manager of the firm. Coworkers who would have never noticed if the man had stopped coming to work now surrounded him like a celebrity, swarming and latching onto him like furious bees. Amongst the chaos, the man escapes to an empty, dark room, reminded of the small office he once had. He never realized the sign he searched so desperately for was in front of him the whole time, and like his coworkers, he would do anything to go back to that little desk.

2019

In the middle of deafening honking and brightly decorated trees, a small coffee shop acts as a fortress of solitude for those looking to get away from the extravagant lifestyle of the city. From old souls to bright laughter, it's here under the soft glow of pendant lights that the woman can be in constant interaction with those around her. As she swings her arms back and forth, brushing away the remnants of dust from the day, the doorbell rings with an incoming customer.

The man pushes the door open gently, looking back to make sure he is alone. As he walks up to the counter, the air slowly grows warmer, as though he can finally take a long-awaited deep breath. Now standing in front of the woman, he takes a lingering gaze into her stunning ocean-blue eyes, transporting him to a tranquil resort overlooking calm waves. His words stumble and sway like never before until finally managing to get his order out. Before leaving, he glances once more, taking a picture of the lost moment he will never get back.

2025

The leaves shine in the sun like amber, gliding swiftly through the air before they meet the ground below. The giggles and screams of kids playing soccer travel around the looped path of the park. On one side, the man walks slowly, hands in pockets, admiring the leaves still clinging to the branches of trees that are not quite ready to be released, still part of something alive. On the opposite side, the woman walks, crouching down to photograph the fallen leaves, highlighting the differences among them and how each one settles into its new home. As the two walk closer and closer together on this winding path, an invisible red string, intangible yet so clearly connected, binds them closer together. The woman is the first to stare into those forest-green eyes that she couldn't get out of her mind since the coffee shop that wistful night. She takes a step closer; at that moment, the man feels the cool breeze around him fade, shifting his eyes from vivid orange to ocean blue. And for that split second, everything made sense. Every decision led up to this one moment. It was fate. It was the fate of the red string.