As the train pulled out of the station I knew that my heart went with it. There was no question as to what I needed to do; I had to find her again and make her mine. In fact, there was only one question running through my mind right now: How?

I jumped up and ran to the timetable on the wall to see when the next train would be headed to Brooklyn. Fifteen minutes; I only had to wait fifteen more minutes. Hopefully I would find her today and quickly at that, but I wasn't going to give up.

I was the first one to board the train as soon as the doors whooshed open, even before the debarking passengers had a chance to step out, and pushed my way into an empty seat. I waited impatiently for the train to start moving, counting my breaths and trying to formulate a plan. I knew that she wouldn't be waiting for me at the next station, but I decided that it was as good as any place to start looking for her.

As we pulled into the Greenpoint station, I hurriedly made my way to the exit and impatiently waited for the doors to release me. I ran through the station, hitting the stairs at a full-on run, my breathing becoming almost as heavy in my chest as my rising panic. I had to find her. I needed to know her, even if it was just her name. I had to have something, anything.

As I hit the top of the stairs, the sunlight momentarily blinded me, forcing me to stop for a few precious seconds to regain my bearings, but it was long enough for me to feel her slipping farther away from me. I ran in a straight line to the closest street corner, hindered by moving any farther by the quick moving traffic. Using my height to my advantage, I spun around, looking for her tight blonde ponytail with that crazy red scrunchy. I spotted quite a few blonde heads, even a few in ponytails, but none of them were her.

As the lights turned and the walk signal came on, I hurried across the street and down the next block searching like a mad man for just a glimpse of her. I looked for hours, circling every block multiple times, all the while hoping to catch sight of her, but I never did.

I doggedly made my way back to the station so I could catch a train back home, watching each and every fellow traveler entering and exiting the station, just hoping to see her again. Even as I reluctantly stepped onto my train, I wondered if I really needed to sleep or if I could just stay there and keep looking for her.

Once I made my way to my tiny apartment, I was welcomed to the smell of something burning inside and opened the door to a puff of acrid smoke along with the sound of a very irritated roommate cussing at whatever was the cause, so I dropped my jacket over the back of the sofa and hurried to open the window to help air out the common rooms.

"Thanks man, I was busy studying and forgot about the pizza I put in the oven like an hour ago," my roommate Alcide said as the smoke began to clear out.

I walked into the kitchen and saw the soggy charred remains of his dinner in the sink. "Looks like we're ordering in tonight?"

"Dude, did you know that pepperoni actually shoots out sparks when it catches fire?" he enquired. "It kinda looked like a tiny fireworks display in here until I got it under the water."

"I had no idea, but I don't think I'd like to see it. I personally prefer my pizza a little less well done, thank you very much." I laughed at his somewhat affronted look before going back out to the living room to grab the handful of take-out menus we had in the coffee table drawer. "I'll grab the menus, what're you in the mood for- something besides pizza? After smelling that shit I don't think I could stomach it now."

"I don't know. Chinese maybe, or Thai; whichever you think sounds better," he called from the kitchen. Chinese it is then.

I called in our order then jumped in the shower to clean up a bit before the food arrived and walked out just as Alcide was closing the door on the delivery guy. While I headed into the kitchen to grab some napkins and a couple of forks, Alcide got all of the cartons opened by the time I got back to the living room, so I grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV. One of the nice things about having a roommate was being able to afford cable.

"So spill it already," he said out of the blue.

"Spill what?"

"Your audition, how'd it go?"

"I got the part, man. Pam was so excited when I called her. Seriously, she started naming off all the other actors that played bit parts on the show, and told me that it was gonna be my big break."

"Do you think she's right?" he asked cautiously.

'Jesus, I sure as hell hope so. I've been to so many auditions; I just want something to pan out soon." I sighed, "But…I'll actually have a couple of lines with this part, so hopefully... I'm sick of doing ads and the occasional commercial. I wanna be someone other than stand-in number 13 or extra number 87. I want to see my name in the credits of something…"

"Well at least you bring in a pretty steady paycheck, I have other friends who are out there busting their humps for nothing," he said.

"Yeah, I know. And I really am thankful, but I can't help wanting something more." I said wistfully.

"Hey, just consider yourself lucky that you ain't got an old lady. Debbie never stops nagging about me, and I quote, getting a 'real' job." He actually used air quotes when he said this, which almost made me crack up.

"A real job? What is it that she thinks you do?" I asked him.

"Apparently being a police sketch artist isn't something that a respectable artist does for a living. I keep telling her that respectable artists are called starving artists for a reason, but she won't listen. Hell, maybe she has a nice little trust fund to fall back on, but I sure as shit don't," he stated.

Sensing his rising agitation, I decided to change the subject and said, "Speaking of old ladies, I think I met the woman of my dreams today."

"No shit, really? What's her name?"

"I don't know," I answered morosely.

"Whadda ya mean, you don't know?"

"Just what I said, moron, I don't know her name. She never gave it to me."

"Well, how do you know she's the woman of your dreams then, if you don't even know her name?"

"I talked to her and there was this, I don't know, this connection. I don't know what to call it. We were talking and she was so sarcastic and feisty, and quick. Like really quick. As soon as I would say something she'd have a comeback. When I saw her she had her ear buds in and was kinda dancing in place while sitting on a bench. I couldn't help it and asked if she was listening to music," I was interrupted by him choking on his Lo Mein at this point.

"You saw that she had headphones on, she was even dancing around, and you still asked her if she was listening to music? God, you're one smooth fucker, Northman."

"Yeah, yeah, smooth, whatever. Anyways…she gave me this look like I needed to stop licking the windows and spouted off this shit about training her pet elephant and that I had distracted it and now she'd have to start all over thanks to me."

I couldn't help but laugh at the confounded look on his face when I told him this, and I laughed even harder when he asked his next question. "Dude, she had and elephant with her? In the subway? How is that even possible?"

"It's not, dumbass. I told you, she was sarcastic."

"Ahhh, gotcha."

"So we talked for a few minutes and I found out that she's from Louisiana and is here going to some arts school and we talked about her taste in music, which is really bad. Seriously dude, she actually likes rap. She was listening to 50 Cent."

"No shit, you hate rap."

"Right? But she started singing one of his songs and, I don't know… it was actually kinda catchy when she started to move with it," I said, unconsciously thinking of the way her body bounced in all the right places as she recited the lyrics for me. "But then before we could really get into anything else her train pulled up and she was gone. Like literally, poof! One minute she was right beside and the next she was getting on the train."

"If she was the woman of your dreams, how could she disappear without you knowing it?" he asked, giving me a look that told me he definitely didn't understand. "Are you sure you weren't imagining her?"

"Nope, no imagination; she was real. I hit the next train to Brooklyn and literally walked every block, man, looking for her and asking if anyone knew a tiny, sarcastic and incredibly hot blond chick. I got several positives, but none of them were her. That's why I was so late tonight."

"Whoa, kinda seems a bit crazy if you ask me. I mean, what if she didn't even go to Brooklyn? Maybe she caught a connecting train to somewhere else?"

"I thought about that around 11 dude, why do you think I finally gave up? Well, that and the fact that I think people were beginning to get a bit freaked out by my manic look and frantic questions. But I decided that I could find her tomorrow since I know one place she is pretty likely to be… the train station."

"The station? Huh? Did I miss something?"

"Yes, the station. I figure that since she was at the station today waiting for her train, it's most likely her normal train. Therefore it stands to reason that she should be there again tomorrow at the same time, right?" I said, excitement causing my voice to raise an octave and his eyebrow to shoot into his hairline. "Anyways, that's what I'm hoping for."

"Northman, calm down there buddy. Have you considered that it might not have been her normal train? You were at the station today and it definitely wasn't your normal train. I just don't want to see you putting all of your hopes on a crazy idea. Besides, don't you think that if she was who you want her to be, she would've at least given you her name?"

I wanted to strangle the fucker then and there. Here I am, pouring my heart out and he has to get all logical and shit.

"You don't understand Alc; she's the one, I just know it," I stated despondently, my shoulders slumping against the possibility that I might never see her again.

"Well, what are you going to do if she's not at the station tomorrow?" he asked me quietly.

"I don't know. I wish I had something more though, like her name or even a picture, but I got nothing," I shrugged sadly.

"Maybe I can help with that. Let me go get a sketch pad and we'll see about getting you a picture." He got up from the sofa and ambled to his room, returning just a moment later with his pad and a tin of watercolor pencils. "Let's get started on finding your Mrs. Northman. Just remember, I'm going to be your best man if this works."

An hour and a half later and I was staring at a picture of my girl, only this time her hair was down in gentle waves around her shoulders. Alcide was one hell of an artist and with nothing more than my words to give him direction, he had perfectly captured the sarcastic smirk that turned her full lips into a sensual dream. Her eyes seemed to sparkle up at me from the matte finish of the paper and I could barely contain my need to rush out the door and pound on every one of Brooklyn's doors to find her. Tomorrow; tomorrow I would find her and somehow I would convince her to spend the rest of her life with me.

Sadly, tomorrow never happened, nor did the day after that or the day after that even. She never returned to the station. I took Alcide's drawing with me everywhere, even convincing him to sketch several others. One small enough to carry in my wallet, one with her hair up like I had seen it that day on the crowded platform, and one that was framed and sitting on my nightstand.

She became my obsession. Week after week quickly turned into month after month of not finding her, but I still couldn't stop looking for her. Both Pam and Alcide tried to get me to let her go, but I knew that I would find her again. Every day after I finished working I would rush back to Brooklyn and spend my evening looking for her once again, tonight being no different. I walked into the cast dressing room and went to my locker, grabbing my Walkman and pushed my earbuds tightly into my ears, cueing up In Da Club and pictured her bouncing shoulders as she sang the lyrics for me.

I would find her someday.