“No coincidence- no story”

10th April 2025

“No coincidence- no story”
One of my favourite Chinese proverbs.

He was wearing an eye patch over his right eye, and leaning through the iron bars of the village shop, to buy some bread. As he pulled back to sit on a broken metal stool, I caught his eye.

I had just photographed a young girl. Again, her right eye was wounded, and it felt strangely connected.
I wandered over to buy her some tuck shop sweets and asked if he spoke English.
No, his friend said, stepping in to block my view, and soon we were in a flow of conversation. We spoke of the kindness of strangers, and of the frustrations of language barriers. He looked like a gangster; tall and robust with a stubble shaven head. He walked with me for a while, as we spoke to other young children, who wanted to jump both in front of and behind the lens.
“You are good until 6pm, he warned me, then you should leave”
The rascal in me seeking danger, wondered what happened when the light fades, and the children go to bed.

OAO x