Just outside the Metro entrance a group of peddlers spreads a blanket with goods. Someone notices the police coming up the stairs from below the surface of the earth and alerts the ware sellers of the oncoming rebuke. In a flash the blanket the goods and the people are gone. Not a trace, noone would have ever known they were there. The night has turned cold, and before I can descend into the belly of the subway Xi Zhi Men subway station, I must finish my cigarette. I notice someone has set up an impromptdu barbeque and is roasting mutton kebabs. I saunter up and inquire as to the price and am told by a flustered vendor," Yi kuai yi chuan," I reply, "wo yao wu chuan." Unnoticed moments pass and I'm handed five mutton kebabs. Sprinkled with a bit of spice, they are the ultimate street food snack. I'm left to dispose of five bare kebab sticks and an extinguished cigarette, which I do before stepping into a slightly warmer stairwell. A ticket counter and another stairwell lead me onto the platform of the Beijing subway. I scan timetables and decide upon a route home that won't take half the night and step up into an obviously aging train. I'm lucky enough to find a seat, a rare occasion indeed, and with my headphones on, I settle into the rythmic jarring of the subway tracks. I notice a woman across the aisle who seems to be concerned about what she's reading in the newspaper. She looks almost scared. Crumpled eyes and a stern frown keep me entranced upon her face and I wonder what's going on in her mind, and if I'd care were I to find out. A couple of minutes later I notice her newspaper has been folded up and tucked under her arm as she safely dozes. Then there's the gentleman sitting a bit further down. The flourescent light does his bald head no favors as he fiddles with a cell phone. I'm reminded of my own cell phone and pull it out of my pocket to check the time. If I'm lucky I'll be home in forty-five minutes. I settle into a trance and step off the train in a dream like state. The mass of people shuffle me about and someone knocks off my headphones, a quick nod and he dissapears into the thicket of humanities swamp. I surface above ground and breathe.