The Red String Of Fate

By: Dhruvika

Recently, I came across this Instagram post which was about the red string of fate that connects two individuals. Being intrigued by its unique nature, I looked up and found out more about it. So, it is basically an imaginary red thread that is bound to the pinky fingers of the two people. It is said that these people will have an important story, no matter how many miles apart they are far from each other or how different their circumstances are. The red string might get tangled, contracted or stretched, as surely often happens, but it can never break.

This legend got so much more meaning than just being aesthetically pleasing when I found out that the ulnar artery connects the heart with the pinky finger, which actually makes sense as people cross their pinkies when making a promise. The red string is not only romantically symbolic but also of the different people we are bound to meet or help in our lives. It tells us that the friends we make, people we love, etc. are not any random occurrences but predefined circumstances that were bound to happen. It is all a part of a scarlet tapestry whose threads were given to us when we were born but which we knit ourselves.

An elderly man who dwells on the moon comes out every night to hunt among kin spirits to reconnect them on Earth, who have something to learn from each other, and when he finds them, he ties a red thread to them so they might find their pathways, according to one Japanese tale. As a result, our red strings end up in the hands of someone else. Accepting, or at least thinking, this is a secret consolation: it’s as if our steps, obstinate as they can be at times, knew the path and geography of our various destinations, and therefore there were no “slips” or bad judgments.

I find this whole concept of red string of fate really beautiful, not only because of how aesthetic it seems but also because it gives us reassurance that no decision ever taken is wrong; wherever we are meant to be, we will be. Whomever we are bound to meet, we will meet them.