Faith then said to one of the other flight attendants on board, “Have a good flight Fran, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Fran was scheduled for another flight to Boston from New York where she would be on layover. Fran would take a flight back to New York the next day.  “Faith, when is your next flight?”  Faith checked her schedule and said, “Sunday night, I’ll be leaving for London.”  “I’ll see you sometime tomorrow in the late afternoon.  My next flight out is on Monday evening. I’m scheduled to leave for Paris.”  “We never work the international flights anymore,” said Faith.  “Perhaps we can readjust our schedules so we can work together again,” Fran said.  “Perhaps,” Faith said. “Well I’m exhausted. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Faith exited the aircraft and said goodbye to the other crew members. She exited the airport and waited for the bus to take her to Roosevelt Avenue.  She then took the “F” train to the Kew Gardens, Union Turnpike station. 

The “F” train came slowly to a halt as it entered the Union Turnpike/Kew Gardens station in Queens. Faith stepped out of the train and headed towards the stairwell to the street exit. She walked a short distance to the Q-10 bus stop and waited on line for the short ride to her apartment. The line at the Q- 10 bus stop was long since there were a lot of passengers traveling to Kennedy International Airport for the Presidents Day holiday weekend.  Faith waited on the long bus line. She began to fiddle with the buttons on her long navy blue raincoat, oblivious to the people around her. 

Faith was an attractive young lady who just turned twenty-four only a week prior. She had shoulder length blond hair, eyes as blue as the sky and a smile that would light up any room. Faith also had a figure that would turn the heads of most men.  Despite all of this, Faith was a very modest young lady. She was naïve in believing that one day the man of her dreams would come along; sweep her away on a white horse galloping her into the rainbow where they would live happily ever after. Faith especially loved rainbows and wished upon them.  Such a fantasy left her open to the disappointed relationships she had in her past. 

The people on the long line began to slowly step onto the crowded bus. Faith squeezed her way through not wishing to wait outside in the freezing cold for the next bus to arrive.  As the bus cautiously pulled away, a young man accidentally bumped into her as the motion of the crowded bus made him lose his balance.  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” said the young man as he looked directly into Faith’s deep blue eyes.  Faith smiled and replied, “That’s OK”.  The young man smiled back and said awkwardly, “we are packed in here like sardines in a can.”  Faith chuckled and said, “at least we’re not waiting out in the freezing cold.”  “Not unless you like to go skiing. Have you ever gone skiing before?”  “No.” Faith replied. “But I always wanted to go upstate to Hunter Mountain and try it.”  “It’s really cool. First it’s hard, but then you’ll get use to it,” he said.  “I’m always afraid of falling and breaking a bone or something. I heard too many stories of people who have gone skiing for the first time and broke some sort of bone.”  “If your really careful and pay attention to the ski instructor, you’ll be fine. You will start off on a beginners slope where you can get comfortable using the skis.”  “I take it you’ve gone skiing before.”  “Sure have.”  “Hunter Mountain?”  “No, actually I like to go skiing in the mountains of Vermont. I find that the slopes there are much better.”  “Vermont, I hear it is really beautiful up there,” said Faith.  “The scenery is breathtaking, especially during the autumn months when the leaves turn color.” 

Suddenly there was a long pause between Faith and the young man before any of them uttered a word. Breaking the silence which seemed to last forever, the young man turned towards Faith and said, “My name is Michael Engel.” 

Michael Engel was a tall handsome young man with all American good looks and a muscular build.  He had blond hair, blue eyes and also had a recent birthday turning twenty-six. 

 “Hi, Michael, my name is Faith Michelsson.”  “Michelsson,” Michael said with curiosity.  “Yes, I’m of Swedish decent.”  “I’m of German decent,” said Michael, “one-hundred percent. I love my beer and brautwurst. I also love Octoberfests.”  “Octoberfests,” said Faith in excitement. “I love going to Octoberfests too!” 

As they continued talking, they both learned that they shared the same birth month in February, had the same Zodiac sign, Aquarius and their birthdays were one week apart. 

Mike saw Faith in uniform with her flight bags beside her. “Are you a flight attendant?”  “Yes, I’m a flight attendant for an international airline.”  “Awesome. I love to travel, but the only thing is I hate flying. It must really be cool to travel the world.”  “It has its moments,” replied Faith, “but after awhile you become tired of all the traveling and you just want to be settled in one place.”  “So Mike, you don’t mind me calling you Mike, do you?”  “No not at all, everyone else does.”“So what do you do for a living?”  “I’m an architect for a company in Manhattan.”  “Impressive.”  “We are bidding on a contract for a company in Baltimore to design a children’s hospital where I will be able to put my drafting skills to use.”  “It must be really tough working under pressure.”  “I work best under pressure.” Then Mike asked, “So Faith where do you live?”  "I live in Kew Gardens.”  “I could tell from your accent that you’re not from New York.”  “No, I’m from Omaha, Nebraska.”  “Nebraska? I have never been there.”  “Neither has anyone else that I have met.”  “So Mike, I take it you’re a native New Yorker, where do you live?”  “Glendale. I’m sub-leasing an apartment from a friend.”  “Aren’t you on the wrong bus if you are going to Glendale?”  ”I just came from seeing a friend in Forest Hills. I’ll get off on Jamaica Avenue then walk to Myrtle Avenue to take the Q-55 bus to Glendale.”  “A friend?” Faith asked curiously.  “A friend I went to college with. I’m unattached right now.”  “How about you, are you seeing anyone?”  “No, sometimes it’s hard to date someone when you’re traveling all the time, especially if they’re not from New York.” 

Suddenly Faith became distracted as she looked out the window.  “Mike I’m getting off the next stop. I really enjoyed talking to you. It was nice meeting you.” (She started to pick up her flight bags and head towards the door).  Mike suddenly said, “Faith wait, I really would like to get together with you sometime. I really liked talking to you too.”  Surprised by his response, Faith said, “Sure Mike I would like that very much.”  Mike then frantically reached into his coat pocket looking for something he could write his phone number on. Faith reached in her purse and said, “Is this is what you’re looking for?” She jotted down her phone number on a piece of scrap paper.  Mike gave his phone number to Faith as well. 

Michael was dressed in a navy pinstriped business suit with a tie and wore a long navy wool coat. 

The bus slowly stopped on Metropolitan Avenue where Faith smiled and said to Mike, “See you later.” Mike said he would call her as Faith exited through the door. Faith walked off the bus. As the bus was slowly riding away, she turned around and waved goodbye to Mike, who waved back at her with a smile. Mike had a short ride to go before he would get off the bus on Jamaica Avenue, only a few stops away. Faith walked a short block to her apartment.  She thought of Mike and felt that warm fuzzy feeling she had experienced before. 

Faith went into her apartment on the third floor. No one else was home. She shared the apartment with Fran, her best friend and Sheila another flight attendant. Faith settled in. When Faith finally fell asleep, she dreamed of a young boy unconscious with flames around him. She heard screams of people all around her. Faith then saw a bright white flickering light and the image of Michael, the man she just met. 

Faith woke up in a cold sweat with her heart beating rapidly. What a nightmare she said to herself.  She tried to fall back asleep again, but became too preoccupied thinking about her nightmare. She finally fell back to sleep about four in the morning.  This time she slept peacefully dreaming of a beautiful rainbow filled with vibrant colors. In her dream, she saw a beautiful white stallion and an image of an angel. Faith then woke up.