For a month straight I keep seeing this guy in the metro, at the store, at a cafe - totally random places. I don't know him, but we keep running into each other. Is it just a coincidence or a sign from fate?
Most likely, it's just a coincidence, even though it feels mystical. You live in a city with millions of people, but at the same time you follow the same routes - to work, to one neighborhood, to your usual shops and cafes. The guy probably also lives or works nearby and uses the same places. When your brain notices such a pattern, it starts seeing a connection everywhere - it's called pareidolia, but for coincidences. You've simply started noticing his appearance because you already know what he looks like, and he's just living his normal life with no idea that you keep running into each other.
To be honest, I've dealt with this - I was convinced that someone from my neighborhood was stalking me until I realized we just take the metro at the same time and in the same direction. After that, the coincidences stopped feeling like signs of fate. If you really want to understand what this means, try talking to him - just go up and tell him you see him often. Either you'll find out that he's noticed the coincidences too, or you'll realize it's his first time meeting you. But waiting for signs isn't the most productive approach. Fate, if you believe in that sort of thing, usually requires active action, not just coincidences.
Do you live or work in the same area? Because the coincidence is pretty explainable - if you both take the same routes at the same time, you're bound to run into each other eventually.
But there's one thing people usually forget to mention: when we're waiting for something or fixated on someone, our brain starts noticing them even more often than they actually show up. A month ago you wouldn't have even paid attention to this guy, but now every encounter feels like fate.
I had a similar situation a couple of years ago - for about three months I kept seeing this woman either on the commuter train or at the same café, and then we ran into her by chance at a dacha with mutual friends. Turned out we lived in neighboring houses and worked in the same area, we just hadn't crossed paths before. After we talked, the encounters stopped - simply because our routes were actually a bit different and didn't overlap that often. Most likely it's exactly the same with your guy: you both go to the same places at roughly the same time, and your brain picks up on the pattern you've noticed, starting to see "coincidences" where they're actually just completely natural. It's not fate, it's just statistics in a big city.
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