A Most Peculiar Coincidence

*  *  *

Hello, readers!  I hope you all had lovely Christmases!  

Something very strange happened to me recently, and I just had to tell you about it.  But first, I have to set it up for those of you who know me only from this blog.

I believe I've mentioned a particular forum in the past called The Underground, which was run by the authors of a children's book trilogy called The Berinfell Prophecies.  (Good books, by the way- even if you're not exactly a 'child').  

This forum was not only my introduction to the internet world, but it was a very unique place, unlike any other forum I've experienced since then.  It was a close-knit community made up mostly of young kids and slightly older teens. The majority of us were Christians, or at least raised in a Christian home.  It made for a very kind, open, safe environment unpolluted by the junk that litters most of the internet.  

A lot of us were writers, and we began to share our work with each other.  Over the years, the forum evolved from its original purpose (which was to hype about the book series), and genuine friendships seemed to develop.  People grew up, graduated, and one even died in a tragic car accident,  all during the time that forum was in existence.  It was a very special place with many memories.

Not too long ago, that website was corrupted by some kind of site hack, and it was shut down.  The remaining members gathered together to form Whitehall Castle, a new forum.

Now, with all those unique relationships we built on that first forum, you can imagine that we often talked about meeting each other in real life, which was a difficult thing to do since we all lived very far apart for the most part.

Here's where the strangeness starts.

I work at a hotel, and I recently was asked to design a Christmas advertisemet poster.  To do that, my manager gave me her user password to the desk computer, allowing me to work with her setting.

When I opened up her web browser, what did I find bookmarked?  A link to the old Underground forum.  I couldn't believe it- because only a member who visited frequently would want it bookmarked. 

 Of course I asked my manager right away if she had been there during its time.  She said no- she had never heard of the book series before.  But she said that her settings were actually carried over from the previous Live-In who left before I started working at the place.  Her name was Sarah, but I don't know her last name.  She was an adult, so she must have been one of the older members.  Either that, or she had kids that lived with her and used the computer.  

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT???   After ALL that dreaming and planning and wishing, a member of the Underground came so close, but still too far.  I'll never even know which user she was, since we all went by pseudonyms like Elethia, or Millard, or Leilani, or Aarthyn.  (-)_(-)

Well, there you have it.  A most peculiar coincidence.  Those of you who used to be members of that same forum will understand the irony of this.  

*  *  *

-Emmarayn Redding