So, like, I've been riding the subway for years. I grew up in Brooklyn, just outside the Heights, and my family and me would go to Coney Island at least once a week during the summer. When I got old enough, I'd go by myself. Thing is, when you get out that far, the stations are few and far between. Going across Sheepshead Bay it's a good five minutes without a stop, so if you cant sleep through it, you bring a book or something, because the view gets old real fast. So I was riding out to Coney one afternoon and we get to the Stretch, and I dunno, I'm in the mood to talk. Know what I mean? So here's this guy, and we start jabberin' about the Yanks and the Mets and the pennant that year. Cool dude. We get to the other side of the Bay and he gets off, and I'm thinkin', Y'know, nice guy. Way this city is, probably never see him again. Still, in New York, you take what you're given sometimes, right? So I'm coming back from Coney that night and who gets on the train but the same guy, and we both laugh about how small a chance that might be. So we talk some more -- the hockey strike, mostly -- then, on the other side of the Bay, he gets off again. We wave, and I write if off again. Well, damn me if he doesnt start showing up every time I head out to Coney and every time I come back. And we laugh about it at first, but then it's like we're both expecting it to happen, y'know? I mean, one night, he got on the car two back from me, and we both started running towards each other to meet up in the middle. It's like having this bud you see every day, and you know he's gonna be there, just like you know he knows you're gonna be there too. Once, I thought, let's see what happens if I take an earlier train. And damn if he wasnt there, 'cause he had the same idea. We laughed about that for sure, you can bet. By the middle of summer, it was like this regular thing, you know? I knew all about his wife and his kids and the problems he was having with his job, and he knew all about the bastard professor I had at university and my girlfriend. We shared notes about rock gods and what a jerk the mayor was. Then one day, like, he wasnt there. I didnt think too much about it, figuring, okay, he'll be there on the return trip. Wasnt there either, but I wrote it off -- maybe he was sick or something. No big deal. But as the week moved on and he still hadnt shown up, I started to get worried. And by the end of summer, when he hadnt shown up for, like, weeks, then something inside me just sorta knew I wouldnt see him ever again. And I kinda caught myself wondering, was he thinking the same thing? And the damn thing is, all this time, and I dont even know his name. He was just this guy on the train. Y'know?