Wednesday

Redditors Shared 20 Stories About Strangers They Once Met and Couldn’t Forget

It’s one in a trillion odds that you might have a real-life doppelgänger, as research shows. However, some people do have stories about meeting a person who looks a lot like them. This seems pretty mystical, but maybe the universe is trying to send us a sign by using these different strangers.

Bright Side really loves it when we find some intriguing user stories to share with our readers.

I was having a rough day and I thought I’d get an ice cream to cheer myself up. I was standing in the line and this old lady looked at me and asked if I was okay. I said I was fine and that I’d just had a rough day. I got up to the front to get my ice cream and she tells the cashier, “I’ve got this young man, he’s had a rough day.” I still think of her whenever I have a rough day. @sfmanatarms

Once, I was walking to work and I passed a homeless shelter pickup spot. It was a sunny day in the middle of summer. A small lady was standing on the sidewalk wearing rain boots, a yellow raincoat, and wrapped completely in a blue vinyl tarp. As I walked by her, she leaned into me, looked me in the eye, and said, “…fish monster…?” @mister_sleepy

I met my husband’s doppelgänger once. The man looked EXACTLY like my husband. But my husband was supposed to be at work, so I was confused. The guy noticed me staring at him and so I explained why, and even showed him a picture of my husband. He swore that was a picture of him and that this was all some practical joke. I had to show him pictures of my husband and I together for him to realize the pictures were not of him. I often think of that encounter and how insane it was. I also think about the astronomical chances that not only did my husband have a doppelgänger, but that we lived in the same city for a while and I happened to cross paths with him. @invisible_for_this

When I was a kid, I was at the airport and I spotted an elderly lady looking at me. Deeply. At first I thought I accidentally hit her or something, so I asked if she needed anything. She shook her head. Didn’t pay much more attention to her, and I just checked in and headed to my plane. Later, already on the plane, I see the very same lady looking for her seat. Of course, I helped her and asked her what number her seat was. She handed me her ticket. “B37.” I’ll never forget it because I was the C37. She sat right next to me. I was scared. I was a kid, and I wasn’t used to coincidences. When we arrived and were waiting for the plane to land and then to get to the gate to head out, she finally says, “You know, you really look like my daughter, I even thought you were her! But she passed away 5 years ago, silly me. Here, this is her with my grandkids.” She handed me her phone with a zoomed in picture. I was paralyzed when I saw her. She looked EXACTLY like me. But she was 28 and I was 10. I couldn’t even talk. Now that I am older, every time I look in the mirror for my birthday, I remember that lady and the picture. I am a living photo of her daughter. Every year that goes by, is a year that I look more like that woman in the picture. @AntoSchast

I was once approached by a woman in a supermarket who told me, “Oh, so you’re the one that people say looks like my son!” I was kinda confused and weirded out, but she explained that many of her friends had told her about “this guy around town that looks exactly like your son.” She didn’t show me a picture or anything, but I still live in the city and still keep my eye out for my fabled doppelgänger. @AnStulteHominibus

On our 29th anniversary, while on vacation, my hubby and I went for a hike and asked a young couple to take our picture. The guy asked me to take a photo of them too. While I did, he dropped to his knee, pulled out a ring, and proposed! We exchanged numbers and I made them promise to update me after the wedding. They did! I think of them often and hope they’re happy and still in love! @renijreddit

When I was a kid we didn’t have a lot of money, so we often shopped at thrift stores. What I loved about that was that you could get 10 books for a dollar, so I would plant myself in front of the book section and make piles of which ones I wanted to get and then decide after I’d gone through them all.
One day an older lady saw me sitting with my piles and asked if I liked to read. I told her I did and showed her a few of the books I found that I liked. She smiled and then pulled a dollar out of her purse, handed it to me, and said, “Promise me that you’ll keep reading.” I was so happy and immediately stood up and said that I would. This was over 20 years ago, but I still think of her whenever I buy a new book. @-eDgAR-

I was shopping at an outlet store in Florida when Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” came on. I started singing along quietly. There was a big male employee stocking shelves nearby and he started to sing the Ike parts while I sang the Tina parts. It was magical! @mswoodie

I was on a bridge in Paris and I’d always had trouble accepting my physical appearance. Anyway, I was listening to music and I see a guy waving at me and standing in front of me with a smile. He was really cute, beautiful green eyes, and a friendly face. I removed my headphones and he said, (you’ll never guess): “I’m gay.”
So yeah, I was a bit confused. I thought he wanted me to sign something or maybe he just realized it and wanted to share with someone. But he added : “I saw you and for the first time in my life I felt attracted to a girl. You’ve changed me. I wanted to tell you.

… And then just went on with a smile on his face.

I actually cried. I’ll probably never see him again, but I’ll never forget what he said. It helps me cope when I feel really insecure. @MHeraclea

I was totally down on my luck, living out of a hotel. I did have a job, but not enough money to stay there until my check came. A friend of mine bought me lunch and was saying that they couldn’t help with much, but this is what they had, which was $300 short. The next thing I know this guy at the next table is leaving and he tells me not to go anywhere until he comes back. His girlfriend stayed behind, even though they had paid their bill. He was back in a few minutes and he hands me $300. I asked him for his contact info and he said he didn’t want it back and to keep working to stay off the streets. The man literally stopped my mom and I from becoming homeless. @Limp_Distribution

I was 18 and living away from home for the first time. I couldn’t afford much, so I’d walked 2 miles through the snow to buy bedding at a discount shop and was having a miserable day. The woman in front of me in line put $50 on a store voucher card, handed it to me, and walked away before I had a chance to react. @w1256414

There’s a spot in the building that I work at that nobody wants to work in. It’s the coldest area in the building, because there’s an opening that doesn’t close and doesn’t have heat, so you can’t even eat food safely there because the wind will blow it away. I was moved from where I usually am and wasn’t prepared for how cold it would be there. I could barely handle money, because my fingers felt frozen. A customer noticed how cold it was and, without even asking if I was cold, he took off his gloves and gave them to me. I have no idea what his name was, but it was the most thoughtful thing a complete stranger has ever done for me. I still have the gloves too. @EastCoastTrashBag

My 4 kids, my husband, and I were traveling to see family and stopped at a Red Robin for dinner. While waiting for a table, the gentleman next to us sneezed and I said bless you without even thinking about it. We were shown our table shortly after and we ate our dinner. When the bill came the waitress told us that our bill had been paid for by someone who appreciated the blessing I gave him and wanted to give us one back. @bella9538

I was with my mom shopping, and we found ourselves in the yogurt section. I love this stuff, so I was looking around at all the flavors pretty carefully. An older man came up and started also searching through them, as well. I remember him being really tall, and he had some resemblance to my features. He had my build, same skin complexion, same hair color. As we’re searching through, he chuckles and says how he’s gotta find the perfect flavor, and I agree with him. He asks what my favorite flavor is, and it turned out we had the same favorite. He introduces himself as John, and my name is Jonathan. He then found the ones he wanted, which were the same brand as the ones I was getting, and he put them into his cart, smiled at me, and rolled away. I have not seen him since, but every time I remember that story, I can’t help but think that there’s always the possibility that I met my future self. @SkeleBoy10