Elevator Encounters

I step onto the elevator on the 21st floor. It's empty save for a bucket of dirty water in the corner. Where did it come from? Is it being sent down to someone below? Did someone forget it when they got off? The elevator stops on the 12th floor. A little boy about three skips on, tugging at his father's arm. He sees the bucket in the corner, points and says, 是什么 shi4 shen2 me? What's that? His father offers a patient explanation. The boy carries a Winnie the Pooh backpack & sways back & forth as we wait for the ground floor.