[ IP ] Old House

*I got nothing. * 
 
 He sighed as he sat watching the house from the park bench across the street. He had come to the house, again and again, drawn to it. He did n't know if it was the way the setting sun lit the house, the white tile turned gold, or the way it reminded him of the *siheyuan* in the fields where he met his in-laws for the first time, and it was up in the air who was more surprised; them at the *waiguoren* who landed in their laps or him at the sudden crowd that turned up to block the only escape. Or perhaps the building where his daughter first chased a *totoro* only she could see, laughing and dancing and heartachingly young in her yellow dress and favourite sunhat those so very many years ago. 
 
 He looked down at his keyboard, and rubbed his eyes. A child's whoop as he hit the slide in the park behind him caught his attention for a second. Then back to the house, to watch the shadows crawl across the courtyard. 
 
 *I seriously got nothing. * 
 
 He sighed again, and closed the lid of his laptop. He had thought that this time, *this time* he'd find enough of a spark to light the dark and write again. Not tonight, it seemed. He'd been saying that to himself a lot lately. 
 
 He grinned wryly, and shot a sardonic salute to the house across the way. A woman just coming out recoiled a bit and raised a questioning eyebrow; *Do I know you? * Still grinning, he shook his head and stood. *Then get out of here. Perv* her stance seemed to say. Stowing his laptop, he shouldered his bag, waved to the slightly offended woman, and started for home.
