On the upward bound escalator behind a young girl. She's just tall enough to rest her hand on the escalator belt for support, but she reached further to brush her hand against the belt of the downward bound escalator beside us. No one downward bound noticed her, cos no one needed to rest their hand on the belt for support. But there was one middle aged man who did, though he was staring blankly into space. As upward girl and downward man were brought closer and closer together, I waited curiously for their hands to collide, for the man to jolt into consciousness. Except at the last moment, the girl pulled her hand out of range and contact was never established. Man moved on down oblivious to her existence. Girl and I moved on up, cowards moving in tandem.