I keep a folder of quotes that stop my scrolling. The one I think fits this feeling best is from Gabriel García Márquez in 'Love in the Time of Cholera': 'Nothing in this world was more difficult than love.' It's not literally about paths, but that’s the point, isn't it? The crossing isn’t the neat intersection on a map. It's the brutal, wonderful collision of two whole universes of experience, and you're never the same after. It demands everything.
It captures that terrifying vulnerability of truly meeting someone. Their history, their damage, their joy—it all crashes into yours. It’s less about a sweet, destined moment and more about the sheer unlikelihood and cost of it. The quote grounds that ephemeral 'crossing paths' idea in the gritty, daily work of actually walking together afterward. My copy of that book is full of underlines, but that line has a coffee stain next to it, which feels fitting.