This happened to me more than 20 years ago.

I was taking a bus to see my parents. The trip was about 15 hours including stops/changes. At the first rest stop this older guy started talking to me. He was a little intimidating to be honest, probably twice my size & tattooed, not to mention he'd been drinking out of a brown bag for the first leg of the trip. We sat together for the next stage of the trip, he offered me some of his alcohol & I partook, he also lit a cigarette (you couldn't smoke on buses even back then) & I shared it. I had a Walkman & we listened to the Red Hot Chilies (one earphone apiece). He was a very sweet person. The bus driver was looking pretty unhappy about us though.

He told me his name & told me the name of the hair salon he owned. I went once when I was back in town, got an amazing cut but not from him - they were booked out. I saw him but he didn't recognise me.

This is where my story breaks the rules for this post.

Twenty years later I moved back to my home town. I'm chronically ill & my hairdresser had been visiting me at home for years before we moved. I hadn't found anyone reliable. So I asked my husband to call and ask. I have nasty reactions to the chemicals in hair dyes and styling products so I can't go into a salon. My husband explained the issue and asked if there was a way to accommodate me. Then he mentioned the story. The hairdresser said he remembered me. I got my hair cut outside the back of his salon by Dan*.

In the twenty years since I'd met Dan on the bus he'd become a drug addict, and eventually gone through rehab. He'd lost everything, including the salon. He had his own salon but now it was just him on his own rather than the huge team he used to have when I met him. He's been cutting my hair for 5 years now, I love him to bits. He has terrible health problems & I worry about him a lot. We both have serious health issues so we have a lot of empathy for one another. I also went through opiate withdrawal after they didn't work out for treating my pain. He's a wonderfully kind, generous person & while I never expected we'd reconnect I'm grateful we did.