‘Chance Encounter’ is the English interpretation of a Chinese idiom – 萍水相逢. It describes the duckweed floating on the surface of water, drifting in random directions, moved by waves or wind, with patches of duckweed gathering together at some point. 

The metaphor of this idiom is that strangers meet by chance and are unlikely to have the opportunity to know each other. It is all about the precise moment that they have met. The bench is like the water in a pond, often being ignored and neglected. When an encounter with a drop of water stretches the surface, it makes a distortion. Some changes take place for a short time and then fade away in the ripples. The encounters might attract attention, but only last for seconds and later ceases to exist.