Woman made a pact with a stranger to meet again in a year — their reunion at restaurant breaks the internet

As they say, some things are meant to be, and so are people. No wonder two strangers, who met at a restaurant in Brooklyn in 2023 and departed with a promise that they'd meet at the same spot a year later, finally met. Surprisingly, the universe also had plans to reunite them on December 27, 2024, the date they fixed. Since then, the two strangers have become best friends forever. 

Erin Rose Jackson (@erinrjackson) shared a heartwarming video on her Instagram account in which she described her meeting with Sue, a stranger she met in 2023 who was sitting next to her table. They interacted for a brief period but established a connection, following which they promised to meet in the same eatery a year later. But there was a catch. 

Jackson revealed, "But we agreed not to exchange ANY personal information so we had no way to communicate. Just a promise to a stranger." Despite the communication gap, both strangers kept their promise as Jackson captioned, "I didn't even know her last name. So today, we flew back to NYC for dinner with Sue because we promised we would, desperately hoping that she would show up, too." And to her surprise, Sue did come. 

The reunion was filled with warm hugs, smiles, and food. Jackson and Sue couldn't contain their excitement, as neither of them expected the other to show up. The former strangers traveled with their families to reunite and keep their promise. The video ended with them enjoying a meal at the same restaurant with their loved ones, hugging each other, and making plans to reunite on the same date in 2025.

The touching video amassed 3.1 million views so far, along with comments from Jackson's followers gushing over the bond. @mizznewmoody gushed, "This is the cutest thing I've seen." @story.behind.the.shot echoed, "This is the most special thing I've ever seen. I instantly felt connected to it as I would do the same!" @gregismsofficial suggested, "I feel like this easily could be a movie - call it 'Save the Date' and it's a yearly meetup between all y'all over the years - huge hit!!!" 

Meanwhile, a handful of other people thought Jackson and Sue shared an uncanny resemblance. @brittkerle said, "And how do you even look related!?! Meant to be!!" Another follower, who also happens to be a doctor, @drnosebest, affirmed, "Is it me or do they look exactly alike? Life has a strange way of bringing people together." @brendanatoli agreed, "I thought the same thing." 

Talking of strangers becoming friends, a young woman, Aoife Isabella Malone, who goes by the username @aoifebellamalone on TikTok, developed an unlikely friendship with a 98-year-old man. Their friendship continued and blossomed into an unbreakable bond over nine years. She began her story by saying, "The slightly bizarre story of how I became friends with an 89 (now 98)-year-old man." 

When she was 19, she moved to a small town in Scotland and began working at a bookstore to support herself. That's where she met Tommy, her 98-year-old friend. "A man named Tommy would come in multiple times a day. It was obvious he was really lonely. His wife had died the year before, and he was coming into the bookies for some company." From there, it marked the beginning of an unlikely yet beautiful friendship.