Once, in Beijing, a young girl in a red gown huddled in a doorway. The rain was falling around her and she looked out into the street, wondering when she should make her break for it. Sensing that the rain wouldn't let up for quiet some time, she dashed onto the streets holding her package close to her chest. Her eyes flitted from side to side as she transversed the narrow streets and alleys.

She saw the blue door ahead of her and pumped her legs harder, eager to reach her destination. She threw herself against the door with a thump that prompted the occupants of the home to open the door to her.

She fell in a heap on the floor, the package fumbling from her hands and hitting the hardwood floors noisily. She gasped for air, her damp red gown clinging to her body, suffocating her.

"You made it?" The man sounded bemused.

"You doubted me?" Her response came in short bursts.

He didn't answer, just laughed sardonically and took the package from the floor. She lay there as he ambled into a room, shutting the door behind him.

The old woman sitting in the corner observed the scene quietly, undetected until her son left the room. The woman in the gown sensed her presence then and looked directly at her.

"Are you going to offer me a place to clean up?" She asked hautely.
"I'll clean up." And she pull