Crackers of Coincidence.

 RHYS BOWEN: As a writer we are constantly told that we should not use coincidence in any of our stories. It simply isn't fair to the reader. Everything has to happen for a purpose and with intention.

The only thing wrong with this is that coincidence happens all the time in real life. Or does it? Is anything random in this world? Do some things happen because they were meant to happen? Certain people were meant to meet. Someone took a different route home one night and it changed his life, he bumped into his future spouse, he saved himself from a train crash.

I can recount so many instances from my own life. One example of coincidence: we were at John's club in London watching a rugby game. The man sitting next to me asked me to save his seat while he went to get a beer. When he came back he asked me if I lived close to London.

No, I said. I live in America.

Oh, which part?

California, I said.

Whereabouts in California?

Marin County, I said.

Which city? he asked.

San Rafael.

I live in Novato, he said.

 Literally five miles from us. What's more, he also spent many years working in Malaysia, as John did. So did his wife. And... they are now our very dear friends.  We meet them on our walk almost every evening.

And the latest coincidence... or is it something more, happened last year.

Our family always insists on various British traditions and one of them is Christmas Crackers. The kind you pull. They break with a bang and inside is a little gift. When I tried to find crackers last year everyone had sold out. My agent suggested i try TJ Maxx as she had seen some in her local store. I went to our store. Not a cracker in sight. I asked an employee who had clearly never even heard of crackers. I was about to give up when I rooted through a random shelf of odd Christmas decorations... a stuffed reindeer, candles etc etc. And there, buried, was one box of the most beautiful crackers you have ever seen.

Deluxe crackers they were called.Whereas most crackers have silly little plastic gifts--a whistle, yoyo, jumping frog etc, this one had really good pressies: a nail file kit, a screwdriver kit, both of which we use, clever puzzles, a tiny bowling set.  In TJ Maxx they were only $14.

Thrilled with my find I carried it to the front desk. While I was standing in line I read the back of the packet and nearly dropped them.  Imported from Hong Kong by the Swan Mill Paper Company.

The Swan Mill is a small paper factory in Kent in the south of England. It was run, during his entire adult life, by my father. In those days it was in the middle of apple orchards outside a small village. We lived in a big house next to the factory grounds. All the village inhabitants worked for my dad. As factories go it was insignificant. It made paper napkins and spiral bound notebooks (the first to do so). It had never had things made abroad or dealt in crackers. And yet here I was, holding this box in my hands, that were now shaking.

It was almost as if I could hear my dad saying, "You looking for crackers? Here you are, love."

I still feel tears come into my eyes as I write this. It had to be more than coincidence, didn't it? The one box of crackers left in the world and they came from my dad's factory.

Do you have a similar experience to share? A time when you really sensed a departed loved one was getting in touch?

I already looked diligently this year, including TJ Maxx but none of the crackers came from the Swan Mill.