Her black nail polish is flaking off. She bites her nails sometimes, I can see traces of it. They are uneven. And at the moment, they're drumming against her phone. I can tell she's caught up in thoughts from the way her eyes doesn't change as people pass her. That immediately catches my interest, of course. I want to get to know her.

 

I look for a reaction as I sit down next to her. I notice her train of thought is interrupted, and she gives me a quick glance - pretending she doesn't. After a little while, she picks up her phone and writes a message to someone. I smile to myself as she loses herself in thoughts again. When her phone vibrates, she instantly turns her attention to it again, smiles to herself, writes a reply, and puts it down.

 

I watch her carefully, trying to get to know her without actually getting to know her, wondering if she's waiting for someone, who she's messaging, what she's thinking of. But the moment to say "hi" has passed long ago. Striking up a conversation now would just be weird. I'm coming to terms with the thought that I'll never know her. That I'll never know if she's the Girl. I know it's silly of me to think of her that way, but she looks and smiles and acts like my dream girl. Tiny gestures, like putting her hair back behind her ear when it falls down, the vague smile she gets when she reads messages on her phone, the way her legs are crossed, and the fact that the foot in the air is never still, attracts me to her. I can't tell you why.

 

The voice in the speakers calls out my train and track. I have to part from the girl next to me. As I get up, I almost say "goodbye, then", but I realize it's a bad idea. Even though it feels like I know her, I don't. And it's too late now anyway. Why would she give her number to a stranger that's been sitting next to her at a bench at a train station for the past 15 minutes, but never talked to? I hold it in. How very Swedish of me. Oh well, when in Rome...

 

As I get up and start walking towards my platform, I notice how she is gathering her things. I start walking, and hear steps behind me. She passes me in her boots and black mini skirt, and I try to keep a decent distance. Not creepily close, but not so far behind I lose her in the crowd. She is walking towards the same platform as I am. My heart skips a beat when I notice. She boards the train. My seat is in a different carriage, so I pass the one she got on, and then one more. When my things are up on the shelf above me and I'm in my seat, I should feel comfortable. But I can't just sit here. Not when she is only two carriages away. The girl that might be the Girl. So I get up. I walk through those two carriages.

 

And there she is.

 

Headphones in her ears, staring out the window, surrounded by three empty seats. I sit down opposite her. She looks up. A light of recognition in her eyes. A subtle smile. The smile of the Girl.

 

- So what, are you stalking me or something?

 

I smile. I already feel like I know her. But at the same time she's the biggest mystery I've encountered so far in my life.

 

- I just needed to talk to you.

 

Her smile fades, changes to a serious look. A look of understanding.

 

- So talk.