ASYLUM

* I'm just winding you up, OK?

That's what the little kid said, in the department store, to each person who passed him. He stood at the top of the escalator, pulling determinedly on the moving handrail as though in a tug-of-war.

Why "OK"? Was he expecting a tip? Was he reassuring us? That he was merely providing a service, and not causing trouble? Or that we need not fear insufficient escalator-windage when he was on the case? Was he asking permission, checking it was alright to winch us up out of the basement?

What if we said no? Would he stop what he was doing and return to his father, sat patiently nearby?

Would the escalator stop?

"OK," I said.