Love story: A day that changed my life – October 23, 1956.

Many do not believe in twists of fate… for a long time I did not either. Until the day came that brought a string of coincidences and changed my life for good. To claim that these were pure random coincidences of life? A fat chance…

The story goes back to a historical date, October 23. A day that found me and my dog Bodrog on the way to a wreath-laying ceremony in Corvin köz. And that’s where the coincidences began.

As chance would have it, I bumped into someone who I had met a few days earlier. More precisely, on a Friday the 13th. It was a day of a usual walk with our kuvasz in a park off the Danube, where a teachers’ rally was just being held. Passing through I noticed a girl (or she noticed my dog, who knows). In any case, she saw my kuvasz adorned with a ribbon of the Hungarian tricolor and asked if she could take a picture. I duly blushed, of course, and was unable to utter anything other than a few nonsensical words before Bodrog started pulling on the leash again… All I remember was that she had come to the demo as a teacher. Yet I could not recall her name. I also distinctly remember being rather cross with my dog Bodrog for not having had more patience toward his master. Sure enough, he was probably just after his own instincts…

But let’s jump straight to the historic date of October 23. This was the day we met again, needless to say, by chance. As I was saying, I was on the way to Corvin köz with our kuvasz Bodrog. Why not let him have a field day, I thought to myself, though having not entirely forgotten his recent pranks.

Ironically, or as fate would have it, it was also Bodrog who reunited me with the girl whose name I still did not know. Thanks to Bodrog she noticed me in the crowd, whereupon I felt a sense of complete forgiveness to Bodrog, who did not seem to make much of the situation however.

At last I got to know her name: Magdi. But the miracle seemed to have been rather short-lived as I was still in a dazed state during which I missed my chance to get her phone number. Later, it turned out that this was meant to be. As the day was still far from over.

After attending a ceremony during the afternoon I was heading for home when fate once again interfered. Out of nowhere, tear gas started showering from the skies and before I could catch my breath somebody stepped up to me to offer a paper tissue. It was Magdi. Yes, she led me out of the onslaught and out of harm’s way. After pulling myself together and regaining my sense of chivalry I offered to accompany her home. She promptly but politely refused saying “I’m a big girl, I will find my way home”.