don't i know you??

I confess that....I have imaginary relationships.

People are creatures of habit. I go well beyond the ordinary in that sense...I like to be in the shower at X time, leave the apt at Y, and I need to stand in the same spot for the train. Clearly, I'm not alone in this because I see a lot of the same travelers every day, especially in the AM since we all have more control over schedules at that point in the day.

I notice some of my frequent companions and I tell myself about them. Some of them, I make up stories. Others, I just observe. There's a woman who is always well-dressed...nothing particularly special, business-casual fare, but just well tailored and clean and somehow nicer. I've always wanted to tell her but fear I'd totally freak her out (and that I'd be embarrassed and then have to stand somewhere new). But I haven't seen her lately...have I missed the chance?

Sometimes a very large mentally challenged man gets on later. He rocks back and forth on his feet and announces the stops. The other day he asked someone to tie his shoe...a nice guy in army camouflage helped him which made me smile (he was a bit far from me). Sometimes people move away from him. I want to explain that he is my Gentle Giant.

There are two women who sit together often. They don't work together because they get off separately and I don't think they are related. I go back and forth between roommates and just random travel companions. I think they notice me observing them.

The end point here though...I wonder if they are watching me back. What do they notice? Do they have a story for me? A name or tag-line? Who am I through the eyes of these not-quite-strangers?